SZAR Chapter 125

For a brief moment, Chu Xiu had to admit it: he was enchanted.

The guest was truly beautiful; refined yet elegant, reminding one of smooth jade or ink-washed landscapes. Such a person seemed born to sit on a high throne in gold and jade, admired by all. But now, unclothed and clearly before him, the extreme contrast left Chu Xiu helpless.

The seasoned bartender lowered his gaze in panic, not daring to look further. The hand gripping the door handle relaxed slightly.

— If he opened the door now, anyone passing by would see Yi Xi completely exposed.

Though this meeting with Yi Xi had been casual, Chu Xiu’s instinct rejected such a possibility. He hurried forward, picked up the bathrobe from the floor, and wrapped Yi Xi in it, keeping his eyes fixed on the floor as he spoke with a laugh that tried to sound light:

“Please don’t joke with me. This isn’t funny at all. Someone like you could have anything you want; I’m just a bare existence, a simple body barely worth looking at. Why spend your time on me?”

Chu Xiu deliberately kept his tone casual, trying to make the scene seem like a joke, yet his voice was dry, tight, and nervously strained.

Yi Xi grasped his hand.

His fingers trembled slightly, but the grip was strong, as if afraid Chu Xiu might pull away. Cold sweat appeared at his nose.

“If I told you… this isn’t a joke?”

He guided Chu Xiu’s hand to touch his own skin; the cool, gentle pressure along the neck raised tiny goosebumps

Yi Xi fought to contain his unease.

“I didn’t act on a whim. I’m serious.”

He had bathed, changed into the bathrobe, carefully fixed his hair, sprayed orange blossom perfume, and even brought a bottle of aphrodisiac liquor. Even in his past life, attending the most important business events, he had never been this meticulous.

Yi Xi had lived in this world for three years, constantly seeking news of Chu Xiu. But Chu Xiu’s name was common, and finding him in the vast crowd had been like fishingfor a needle in the ocean. From hope to disappointment to despair, Yi Xi had almost resigned himself to never seeing him again.

Later, during a chance gathering, Mr. Li mentioned that A City had a bartender named Cointreau, and made excellent cocktails. At that moment, other guests at the table were astonished to see the usually composed and refined Yi Xi spill his red wine, nearly losing his composure at the table.

Hearing Yi Xi say that, Chu Xiu let out a faint, ambiguous laugh.

“Mr. Yi, I’ve been in this line for years,” he said, “I’m not some newbie who can be coaxed with just a few words.”

He still didn’t dare lift his eyes, keeping them fixed firmly on the floor. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Yi Xi’s ankle, so pale it almost hurt to look at.

Chu Xiu muttered self-deprecatingly, “This is our first time meeting. What does it matter if one of us is serious or not? And with your status… among the bartenders at our bar, as long as you don’t pick me specifically, there are plenty of…”

He forced the rest of the words back down his throat.

His long, elegant peach-blossom eyes widened, reflecting Yi Xi’s image. This gentle, refined beauty’s cheeks were faintly flushed, and the taste of tequila lingered on his lips.

Yi Xi gripped the back of Chu Xiu’s head, forcing him to lean forward, and their lips met.

In a daze, Chu Xiu thought, This Mr. Yi really isn’t a master of romance.

His kiss was inexperienced and clumsy; teeth bumped against teeth, gums collided with gums, leaving the taste of blood in their mouths. It was more like a desperate, all-or-nothing offering than a seduction.

But could it be possible? A CEO who came straight to hire him for bartending… is a total greenhorn?

“Just try it,” Yi Xi pleaded. “At least once. Please?”

Chu Xiu felt his heart suddenly tighten.

The sorrow in Yi Xi’s eyes was too intense, spreading and filling the tiny room like a storm. Chu Xiu felt suffocated. Amid the haze of alcohol, he thought in a daze, How could I let him be this sad?

How could I bear to let him be this sad?

This inexplicable feeling tangled itself around Chu Xiu’s heart. Even though Yi Xi was just a stranger he’d met by chance, Chu Xiu felt an unexpected pang of regret. Maybe he shouldn’t have rejected Yi Xi so bluntly. Maybe he could have been gentler. Maybe…

Yi Xi pressed his hands to Chu Xiu’s shoulders, and the two of them fell together onto the soft bed.

Through Chu Xiu’s thin shirt, the warmth of his skin pressed against Yi Xi, precise and undeniable.

“Whatever.” Chu Xiu lay back on the bed, thinking, Someone as beautiful as Yi Xi, if he sleeps with me, it’s not a loss.

He gave in with a self-deprecating shrug. “It’s my first time. Take it easy. There’s KY in the bedside drawer, remember to use it.”

Yi Xi froze mid-motion. Chu Xiu had already peeled him out of his shirt, yet for some reason, Yi Xi stopped, stiff in place, wearing a confused expression.

Chu Xiu: “?”

He half-sat up, frowning in disbelief. “Don’t tell me you don’t know what KY is?”

Yi Xi remained kneeling on top of him, hands supporting him, unmoving.

Chu Xiu inwardly groaned. Who would believe this? A CEO who crossed oceans just to sleep with a bartender, and he doesn’t know what KY is?

With a sigh of resignation, Chu Xiu half-sat up, opened the drawer, and twisted the cap off the bottle…

……………… 

An hour later, it was over. Chu Xiu stepped into the bathroom, staring at the glistening water on his fingers with a baffled expression.

This Yi Xi…actually a bottom?

He turned on the shower, his mind in chaos. Cold water poured from above, washing away the sweat from his body. Chu Xiu drifted, replaying the earlier scene in his head.

He had to admit. It felt… good.

Yi Xi had always been right at Chu Xiu’s aesthetic point, and now, the way he had endured everything, so beautiful it was almost unreal. Despite having no real experience, his entire body had flushed a soft sakura pink, yet he had cooperated unexpectedly, as if striving to prove the words he had said:

“Try it. You’ll like it, I promise.”

Chu Xiu had to admit: he did like it. He was utterly bewildered and captivated.

But today had been so absurd, like some fantasy spring dream. Chu Xiu pressed down the lingering heat with cold water, buttoned up his shirt, and returned to the bedside.

Yi Xi seemed asleep, his gold-rimmed glasses hanging on the headboard. He was utterly exhausted, sweat still on his forehead, yet even asleep he looked calm and refined, completely the untouchable figure Chu Xiu had always imagined. But now, sitting at the bed, Chu Xiu felt how naturally Yi Xi reached for his hand, as if he had done this a thousand times, as if it had become a habit.

Chu Xiu hesitated for a moment, then scooped him up and carried him to the bathtub. Yi Xi opened his eyes drowsily, saw it was him, and settled back to sleep, reassured.

Chu Xiu let out a small sigh.

He didn’t understand where this strange trust Yi Xi placed in him came from. He quickly tidied him and returned him to the bed, standing there in a battle of instincts and reason, wondering whether he should leave.

Based on Alan and Bowen’s experience, in such a situation he could just return to his own room and sleep. Mr. Li or Mr. Wang might not want to see them upon waking, but Yi Xi…

Yi Xi’s hand still held firmly onto Chu Xiu’s arm, as if in his dreams he feared he would run away.

Chu Xiu paused, then finally climbed onto the bed.

………………

The next morning, when Yi Xi woke, Chu Xiu was at the bedside, buttoning up his shirt.

There was no need to comment on the bartender’s body, muscles toned and beautiful, the waistline perfectly contoured.

Yi Xi sat up, asking in a hoarse voice, “Are you leaving?”

Chu Xiu handed him a glass of water, keeping his head down, still wrestling with the buttons. “During your time at the resort, I’ll be here with you.”

Yi Xi took the water. After their encounters before, Chu Xiu often handed him water like this, but now, things were different. He hesitated, wanting to ask, And outside the resort?

But just having met, the question felt premature. He swallowed the words and instead pulled a checkbook from the bedside. In a low voice, he said, “You probably offer long-term service. If I want you to accompany me back to Europe, how much would that cost?”

Chu Xiu didn’t answer immediately, but asked, “And with what kind of status would I accompany you to Europe?”

Without a moment’s thought, Yi Xi replied, “Boyfriend.”

Chu Xiu understood.

In their line of work, “boyfriend” didn’t mean an ordinary boyfriend, it was just a polite, euphemistic way of saying it.

Aside from a gambling-addict father in A City, Chu Xiu didn’t know many people anyway, so he simply nodded: “Okay.”

The next day, Yi Xi went to greet the bar’s head bartender.

He seemed afraid Chu Xiu might change his mind, rushing to cut off the last possible escape route. The head bartender, being a big mouth, made half the staff aware that Chu Xiu had hooked up with the new jeweler and would be going along with him.

Alan chimed in neutrally in the group chat: 【 No wonder Yi Xi looked down on us. Turns out he had his eye on Cointreau, this living legend. 】

The head bartender told Alan to shut up, then privately messaged Chu Xiu: 【 Don’t worry and go ahead, we’ll keep your spot at the bar for you. 】

He meant Chu Xiu’s position as the bar’s top bartender.

Many bosses take their bartenders out, but long-term arrangements are rare. After a brief whirlwind of extravagance, most people still return.

Chu Xiu said: 【 Mm.】

He didn’t think Yi Xi would keep him for long either.

That guest, descending from the heavens, was far too unreal, someone from a completely different world. After a brief time together, they would inevitably part ways.

And so Chu Xiu became Yi Xi’s boyfriend.

He followed Yi Xi to business gatherings, visited art exhibitions, watched the aurora from a cruise in the Arctic, kissed in water villas in the Maldives, bought a vacation villa by a suburban lake, even got a dog and a cat. He mixed drinks for Yi Xi, cooked for him, wrapped his arms around Yi Xi’s waist while teaching him to cook. Yi Xi supported his studies, helped him gradually learn business knowledge, pushed him to the center of the industry, transforming him from a mere dinner accessory into one of the main conversation leaders…

Over time, Chu Xiu grew used to being with Yi Xi. Their lives intertwined; Chu Xiu’s world became filled with traces of Yi Xi.

But Chu Xiu was always waiting, waiting for Yi Xi to bring up breaking up.

Ever since they set their relationship at the resort hotel, Chu Xiu had sensed that day would come.

He wasn’t a newcomer who hadn’t seen the ways of the world, and he wasn’t caught up in some damsel-in-distress fantasy, yet he still found himself hopelessly in love with Yi Xi. Chu Xiu thought, if that day ever came, it would hurt so much he could barely breathe, but he would put on a calm face and end things gracefully.

Yet a year passed. Three years. Five years… Chu Xiu never had to wait for that day.

One evening, Yi Xi suddenly handed over a passport. He didn’t dare look at Chu Xiu, his expression stiff, awkward, and tense, just like the first time in the hotel when he had nervously untied his bathrobe.

He asked, “Country X has legalized same-sex marriage. Will you… register with me?”