THE VERY GAY DAY

"Hey, dude, long time no see," Tan Yao said to Xuan Tianyi. It's been two weeks since they last saw.

Xuan Tianyi looked up from the magazine he was reading at Tan Yao. "Don't greet me like we're friends."

Tan Yao sighed. He looked around the studio. Picked up a stool identical to the one Xuan Tianyi was sitting on and put it close to his. "I know we're not friends, but the last time we saw, we got along really well. We even talked about living together."

Xuan Tianyi paid him no mind. He just continued flipping through his magazine.

"Dude," Tan Yao said. "I don't know why you don't like me, but, we're in this together. The newest ones here. I feel like we've got to watch each other's back."

Still staring at his magazine, Xuan Tianyi stayed quiet. In his head, he started wondering why he didn't like Tan Yao.

Then he was reminded.

A nice, well-polished pair of Italian shoes appeared in his line of vision, making his heart race. He couldn't tell if he was petrified, excited, or both. Steadying his breathing, he looked up at the owner of the shoes and stared into eyes filled with a complexity of emotions, it was hard to tell what they felt.

Out of politeness, he and Tan Yao stood up immediately and greeted at the same time, "Good morning, President Hua."

"Good morning," Hua Zhendan looked from Tan Yao to Xuan Tianyi, then from Xuan Tianyi to Tan Yao. "What are you guys doing sitting around?"

"Waiting for the makeup artist," Tan Yao quipped.

Hua Zhendan nodded. He knew he had asked a stupid question, but he couldn't help it. He didn't like that Tan Yao and Xuan Tianyi were sitting together.

Hua Zhendan looked up at Xuan Tianyi, causing him to droop his head. He couldn't tell what the other was thinking, but he knew what he was thinking. He wanted to take the other in his arms and tell him he missed him. Sadly, he couldn't do that, so, he just turned and walked away.

Xuan Tianyi took a deep breath to steady himself. He was shaky. That was stupid. He wasn't that scared of Hua Zhendan. This wasn't normal anymore. As he sat down, he looked at Tan Yao who was already seated.

Tan Yao pulled out a phone which caught Xuan Tianyi's attention. Xuan Tianyi was stunned. It was his exact type of phone but in black. He remembered opening the door to find Hua Zhendan standing outside it. Hua Zhendan had come to his hostel to give him the phone. That had made him feel special, for once. Turns out Hua Zhendan might have done the same exact thing for Tan Yao. Stupid Tan Yao.

"Like it?" Tan Yao asked Xuan Tianyi when he noticed him staring intensely at the phone.

Xuan Tianyi nodded. "How much did you get it?"

Tan Yao smiled. "President Hua gave it to me. The night he treated me to dinner."

"Oh!"

"It was very gay."

Xuan Tianyi frowned at Tan Yao's first sign of homophobia. He hated homophobes. "What's gay about giving you a phone?"

"It wasn't just the phone. It's just that it felt like he took me out to give me the phone. You know, like I was a girl and he was giving me a ring."

"You have a thing against gay people?"

"Yes, I do. Don't you? I mean. Girls are like—"

Tan Yao was interrupted by a sudden kiss from Xuan Tianyi. Xuan Tianyi, without prior warning, had cupped his face and kissed him adamantly. The more he tried to resist, the deeper Xuan Tianyi kissed him. Soon, the kiss started to feel good.

Xuan Tianyi pulled away, stared at a speechless Tan Yao and said, "I'm gay."

After that, he stood up and walked away from Tan Yao. Apparently, no one in the studio had noticed the kiss. That was great.

***

Xuan Tianyi's heart skipped a beat as Xuan Tianmei sat opposite him on a stool in the studio. Her assistant handed her a face cleanser which she rubbed around his face gently as if a harder motion would bruise him.

As she wiped, she avoided his eyes. They still haven't talked since the day he accepted his contract.

Xuan Tianyi inwardly scoffed at both her gentleness and pretentiousness. If anything would bruise him, it was the tension between them. Trying to break the ice as he couldn't take the quiet anymore, he complained, "I think President Hua doesn't like me."

This got Xuan Tianmei. In spite of herself, she laughed softly. She's never heard of someone disliking her Xiao Shuai before. "That's ridiculous."

Xuan Tianyi pouted. "I'm serious."

"Are you saying he doesn't like you because you weren't able to seduce him?"

"Who wants to seduce him? I talk and he ignores me. He treats everyone but me to lunch and dinner. He's so cold to me ah."

Xuan Tianmei grinned from ear to ear. "Everyone spoils you too much. This is the kind of treatment you need."

Xuan Tianyi stared at her. Obviously, she wasn't mad at him anymore. He held her hand and looked into her eyes, "Mei Mei?"

"En?"

"Do you want to have dinner together later?"

Xuan Tianmei smiled, then nodded. Of course, she did.

***

Xuan Tianyi walked to the front of the blue screen. He was anxious for his first photoshoot. His anxiety multiplied when he saw Hua Zhendan standing close to the cameramen who were checking their camera for what felt like the one-hundredth time.

The anxiety caused Xuan Tianyi's stomach to rumble, reminding him that he hadn't eaten all day. This caused an instant chain reaction. The upper region of his stomach started to ache and he turned pale.

To Xuan Tianyi's surprise, Hua Zhendan was soon in front of him, holding up his chin and staring into his eyes. The cold, detached President had disappeared and left behind a kind, caring man.

"What's wrong with you?" Hua Zhendan asked.

"Nor... Nothing," Xuan Tianyi stammered.

"Is everything okay?" Xuan Tianmei who had hurried to them asked.

Hua Zhendan, remembering himself left Xuan Tianyi's chin and asked sternly. "You're pale. What is wrong with you?"

Xuan Tianyi's heart was racing. He dropped his head and replied, "I'm having a stomachache."

"Is your ulcer hurting again?" Xuan Tianmei asked, and Xuan Tianyi nodded feebly.

"You have an ulcer," Hua Zhendan said in a way that made him seem like he was stating it, and not asking.

Xuan Tianyi answered with a nod anyways.

"Did you take drugs today? Have you had anything to eat?" Hua Zhendan asked softly.

Xuan Tianyi shook his head.

"Why not?"

Xuan Tianyi stammered again, his ears red. "I... I'm broke."

Hua Zhendan could tell he was embarrassed. Xuan Tianmei was complaining about something but Hua Zhendan paid her mind. He reached into his wallet, pulled out his credit card and handed it over to Xuan Tianyi. "Go home, go eat something, and get drugs."

Everyone in the studio was stunned.

"Sir... I..." Xuan Tianyi muttered incoherently.

"Go now. What are you waiting for?" Hua Zhendan asked sternly.

Xuan Tianyi felt like the consequences would be dire if he dared disobey this order. Still, he had to ask, "The photo—"

"I'll have it moved to some other day. Go now."

As Xuan Tianyi walked away from the blue screen, he noticed that everyone was staring at him. His blush was so bad even the makeup he was wearing couldn't cover it. Rapidly, he walked out of the studio.

***

Xuan Tianyi was lying on his bed, waiting for the ulcer pain to dissipate. He had eaten and taken the drugs he bought.

As he closed his eyes, he saw Hua Zhendan's face. He saw Hua Zhendan's eyes filled with worry and concern. He felt Hua Zhendan's fingers lingering on his chin. Fingers that radiated with care. Xuan Tianyi heard the softness that Hua Zhendan had used to talk to him and his heart fluttered so that Xuan Tianyi smiled.

Xuan Tianyi opened his eyes and sat up. Hua Zhendan's face still lingered in his head and he still smiled.

Xuan Tianyi decided to sleep so he lay back down on the bed. Still, thoughts of Hua Zhendan lingered in his mind. They lingered and lingered and lingered, till he fell asleep.

When Xuan Tianyi woke up, the first thing he thought of was Hua Zhendan and he smiled yet again. This smile made Xuan Tianyi frown. Just what was happening to him, why couldn't he get Hua Zhendan out of his mind, why did it feel good to think of him, is this what a crush felt like, did he have a crush on Hua Zhendan?

Shit! He couldn't like his boss. There was no way in hell he could like his boss. Where would he get the courage to ask him out? Did he even want to date him? No, he definitely couldn't like his boss. Even when it felt this good.