You Call This a Green Tea? - Chapter 4

Zhuo Luyuan couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter. Noticing Zheng Xu’s sharp glare, he quickly suppressed his smirk and smoothed things over. “This is the Zhuo family banquet. Since it was an accident, why don’t we all head back to the main hall? I’ll have someone open a few bottles of fine wine to help everyone settle their nerves.”

He Zhen immediately took the exit Zhuo Luyuan provided, apologizing to Zheng Xi first. “I accidentally missed a step just now. My apologies.” Since he had tripped on purpose, it was only right to apologize to the girl.

Having received an apology, Zheng Xi wiped her tears and stood up with her brother’s help. Her eyes, red and swollen from crying, still glared fiercely at He Zhen. “Don’t think I’ll forgive you just because you apologized. Luyuan-gege will never like you!”

The second floor was sparsely populated. While the argument—or rather, Zheng Xi’s one-sided outburst—had happened there, the guests downstairs hadn’t heard the specifics. They assumed it was just a minor squabble.

But now that Zheng Xi had shouted this, the surrounding eyes immediately lit up with gossip.

Whoa. Both Zhuo Luyuan and He Zhen are men, and Zheng Xi is saying He Zhen likes him?

Some busybodies recalled He Zhen’s post from a few days ago. They pulled out their phones to pull up the photo and whispered, “Look, doesn’t this profile look exactly like Zhuo Luyuan?”

Zhuo Luyuan had sharp hearing. Listening to the guests’ discussions, his face turned various shades of red and blue. He flashed a stiff, insincere smile to the crowd, then turned and said to He Zhen with a grimace, “You. Come with me.”

He Zhen felt like he was standing in the middle of a melon patch, and he was the “big melon” everyone was waiting to harvest. He followed Zhuo Luyuan into a lounge and considerately closed the door.

The moment the door shut, Zhuo Luyuan shoved his hands into his pockets and tilted his chin at He Zhen. His beautiful phoenix eyes narrowed slightly in interrogation. “What did that post mean?”

That suggestive post made it hard for Zhuo Luyuan not to overthink, but He Zhen was cursed by the System’s existence and couldn’t tell the truth. Leaning against the door, he came up with an excuse: “We haven’t met in a long time. I just posted it to celebrate and let everyone know I’m back.”

“Celebrate?” Zhuo Luyuan didn’t buy it. He snorted. “If it’s a celebration, why use a candid photo of me? I haven’t forgotten how you used to cling to me as a kid. You… you aren’t actually gay, are you?”

Zhuo Luyuan had thought He Zhenzhen was a Green Tea since childhood. Even though she was now a “he,” that familiar “Green Tea” scent remained.

“Of course not, I—” He Zhen was about to say he was straight, but a giant warning flashed from the System. The Ragdoll cat frantically stopped him: [Host! You cannot express any lack of romantic interest in Zhuo Luyuan, or the plot cannot proceed!]

Even though the female lead had become a male lead, the script had to go on.

The words were at the tip of He Zhen’s tongue, but he forced them to take a sharp turn: “I… was originally supposed to be straight.”

Originally supposed to be?

Alarm bells rang in Zhuo Luyuan’s head. He instinctively took a step back. He knew he was good-looking; people had been crushing on him since kindergarten. As an adult, he’d had confessions from both men and women. He had to be on guard against everyone.

Is He Zhen like that too? Zhuo Luyuan said crossly, “If you like me, you can give up. I won’t be with a man.”

He Zhen found this reaction normal. Not everyone is gay—at least he and Zhuo Luyuan weren’t. Plus, according to the plot, a heroine would appear later. He wasn’t actually going to pursue the guy.

He Zhen nodded, smartly avoiding the word “giving up.” “I understand.”

Seeing that He Zhen wasn’t planning to pester him, Zhuo Luyuan felt a weight lift. Given their physical builds, if He Zhen got serious, Luyuan wasn’t sure he could win a fight. On the other hand, he didn’t want to ruin the relationship just as the He family returned; his mom would skin him alive.

Zhuo Luyuan reached out to shake He Zhen’s hand, signaling they were putting the past behind them. “I know Huai City well. We can hang out when you’re free. There are plenty of fun places.”

He Zhen nodded, his eyes drifting to the script prompt appearing behind Zhuo Luyuan:

【Hearing that she can hang out with Zhuo Luyuan, He Zhenzhen immediately shakes his arm with a hint of grievance and acts spoiled: “Then why don’t you take me to the mall? I haven’t been since I got back.”】

He Zhen looked at their joined hands. His grip suddenly became stiff. Zhuo Luyuan tried to pull back but failed. He looked at He Zhen with rising annoyance—This guy was fine a second ago, why is he squeezing my hand? Is he trying to touch me up?

Zhuo Luyuan’s gaze sharpened, and he yanked his hand back with force. He Zhen’s arm swung along with the motion.

The veins on He Zhen’s forehead throbbed. To hide his internal struggle, he lowered his head, hiding his expression in the shadows. “Then why don’t you take me to the mall? I haven’t been since I got back.”

The mall? What did that have to do with “fun places”? Did He Zhen like those kinds of places? Isn’t shopping a girl’s hobby?

Zhuo Luyuan didn’t say it out loud, but he suddenly remembered He Zhen wearing dresses and clinging to him as a child. A terrifying suspicion grew in his mind. He asked incredulously, “You don’t have… some kind of ‘special’ preference, do you?”

He saw He Zhen’s expression shift from horror to rage, then from rage to calm, and finally to utter soul-crushing resignation. His voice lost all inflection: “No. I don’t. I just want to go to the mall.”

Zhuo Luyuan gave an awkward laugh, said “next time for sure,” and scrambled out of the lounge, terrified that if he stayed any longer, he’d be “silenced” for knowing He Zhen’s secret.

“Host, the protagonist basically agreed, right?” The Ragdoll cat’s tail tried to curl around He Zhen’s ankle, but He Zhen grabbed it by the tail and lifted it off the floor.

“Host! You can’t pick up a cat by its tail! Let go!” the System screamed.

“Getting a bit too comfortable in that cat suit, aren’t you?” He Zhen sneered, hissing through gritted teeth. “If you don’t warn me about the next plot node earlier, I’ll turn you into a Sphynx. I mean it.”

He Zhen felt he was the unluckiest man alive. He was burning through his lifetime’s supply of embarrassment in this world. Especially that look Zhuo Luyuan gave him before running out—he was definitely thinking of something weird.

After the banquet, He Zhen returned home with his parents. His father collapsed onto the sofa, loosening his tie. “Banquets are exhausting, whether here or abroad. I saw you chatting well with the Zhuo boy. You should get along with him. You didn’t have many friends overseas; don’t be like that here.”

He Zhen’s mother took off her heels and massaged her feet. “Let the boy rest, we can talk tomorrow.”

He Zhen didn’t argue, but he was curious. “What made you think we were ‘chatting well’?” Zhuo Luyuan clearly hated that post and was trying to ward him off.

His mother smiled gently. “I know Luyuan. He’s straightforward; what’s in his heart is on his face. But he went to pick you up at the airport early in the morning, and he stepped in to smooth things over during your argument with Zheng Xi. If that’s not getting along, I don’t know what is.”

He Zhen didn’t know much about Zhuo Luyuan, but for the sake of the mission, he had to try. “Alright, I’ll get along with him.”

His mother smiled, then asked, “You’ve been heading to the office every day. Why hasn’t Luyuan taken you out? You’re finally back; go explore, don’t rush into work.”

Actually, He Zhen had been studying the company business with his father because he was worried. He had asked the System: “If the Green Tea antagonist goes bankrupt and runs out of lines, are we actually going to go scavenge for trash?” The System had been silenced by the logic.

His father agreed with the mother. “Be proactive in making friends. If you’re shy, your mother and I can ask for you.”

He Zhen shook his head. “No need. I already asked him out.”

His mother looked at him with a gossipy glint. She used to dress him as a girl, and he always went to play next door. “Oh? Where are you taking him? Stay away from bars.”

He Zhen paused while taking off his jacket. He said casually, “The mall?”

His parents both turned their heads slowly, as if they hadn’t heard him correctly. Doubts flickered in their eyes. His father rubbed his ears and asked cautiously, “Son… you said you asked Zhuo Luyuan to do what?”

“The mall. I want to buy some clothes.” He Zhen ignored their “pupil-earthquake” shock and turned back to his room.

He had no choice. If he didn’t go to the mall, he couldn’t do the mission. He comforted himself: At least I don’t know anyone in this world. I can be a laughingstock in peace.

The next morning, when a groggy Zhuo Luyuan answered the phone, he couldn’t help but shout: “He Zhen, you’re actually serious about going to the mall?!”