"Your drink, sir."
"Yes, thank you." Louis took the glass from the bartender and lifted it to his lips.
He took a sip.
Oh. This was good.
With a tired sigh, he set the drink down and looked around the bar.
There were people inside, but it was not crowded. That was one of the things he had always liked about this place. The lighting was dim, the music low, and everyone seemed more interested in their own problems than anyone else's.
For someone like Louis, who spent most of his days managing Mo Fei's chaos, that kind of quiet was precious.
His mind drifted back to earlier that week.
Mo Fei had completely clocked Chen Guoliang.
A smile formed on Louis' lips before he could stop it.
Mo Fei.
Every day as his manager came with new surprises. Exhausting ones, certainly. Dangerous ones, sometimes. But Louis did not hate it.
If anything, lately, he felt lighter.
"Ahh." Louis sighed again and leaned back slightly.
If only something could be done about that sharp mouth of Mo Fei's. The thought made him chuckle.
"Mind if I join you?" A voice came from beside him.
Louis turned. Then he frowned. "What are you doing here?"
Sima Li smiled and took off the cap he had been using as a disguise. "What? Can't I be here too?"
Louis immediately looked around.
Luckily, the bar was dim enough that no one seemed to have noticed him.
Yet.
"Shouldn't you be more careful where you go?" Louis asked, lowering his voice. "Where's your security?"
How could a national top singer be this careless?
Sima Li rolled his eyes. "I see enough of them. I need quiet." He signalled to the bartender. "Besides, no one will see me here."
Louis looked at him. "Aren't you being reckless?"
"Reckless?" Sima Li looked down at his hands, then shook his head. "I don't think so."
The bartender came over. "What would you... " His breath hitched.
For one second, his eyes widened. But to his credit, he quickly controlled himself.
He had seen a few celebrities come through this bar before. A coworker had even warned him when he was assigned here that he might meet bigger names one day.
Still, who would have thought he would actually stand face-to-face with Sima Li?
"Mm…" Sima Li tapped one finger against the bar. "What's the strongest thing you have here?"
Louis turned to him at once. "What?" His brows drew together. "Aren't you a kid? The fuck are you taking something strong for?"
Sima Li stared at him. "I'm an adult, Louis."
He dragged out the French pronunciation of his name with deliberate sweetness.
Louis stiffened slightly.
Sima Li turned back to the bartender. "I'll just have what he's having."
The bartender nodded quickly and left to prepare the drink.
Sima Li settled beside Louis, resting one arm on the bar.
"So…" His tone shifted, softer now. "Come here often?"
Louis nodded.
"With someone?" Sima Li asked. "Or alone?"
Louis lifted his drink to his lips. "Well, I'm alone now."
Sima Li looked at him. "I'm beside you," he said lightly. "You don't have to be alone anymore."
Louis choked.
"Cough... cough!"
For some absurd reason, the way Sima Li said those words struck him directly in the chest and throat at the same time.
"Are you alright?" Sima Li immediately reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. Before Louis could take it from him, Sima Li leaned closer and lifted it to his lips, gently wiping the small spill from the corner of his mouth.
Louis blinked.
What was happening right now?
Sima Li dabbed carefully at the drink on his skin. It was barely anything, but his fingers moved softly, almost lazily, close enough that Louis could feel the warmth of him.
"Ahem." Louis coughed and quickly took the handkerchief from him.
"Thank you. I can do it myself."
Sima Li shrugged and let him.
Louis held the handkerchief in his hand and looked down at it.
It was green. Soft to the touch.
Expensive, probably.
The bartender returned with Sima Li's drink and set it in front of him before quietly leaving.
Sima Li picked up the glass and took a sip.
Immediately, his face changed.
"Bleh!"
He stuck out his tongue and glared at the drink. "What is in this?"
Louis laughed. "Pretty strong, right?"
"Strong is an understatement." Sima Li grimaced. "This is bitter as fuck. Who drinks this thing?"
Louis raised a brow. Sima Li looked away.
"I mean," Sima Li corrected himself, "why would you drink this?"
"It's strong enough to knock me out and let me sleep," Louis said.
Sima Li stared at the drink like it had personally offended him. Then he tried drinking it again, this time with a more serious expression.
Watching him force it down made Louis laugh again.
"Ugh." Sima Li finally set the glass down in defeat. "Okay. I give up."
He stuck out his tongue again and fanned it dramatically with one hand.
Louis reached into his pocket. "Here." He held out a wrapped candy.
Sima Li looked at it.
"So you do have preventive measures."
He took it.
"No," Louis said. "Mo Fei eats a lot of sweets. I just happen to always keep some with me."
"Uh-hun." Sima Li unwrapped the candy and popped it into his mouth, he glanced at Louis with renewed curiosity.
"I've been wondering. Why is your name Louis? Is it like the English Louis, or the French Lou-wee?" He pronounced the second version properly.
"It's the French Louis," Louis said.
Sima Li's eyes widened. "You're French?"
"Oui," Louis replied. "Part French."
[Yes]
"That explains the accent."
Louis frowned. "What? What accent?"
"You know." Sima Li leaned closer. "Your Chinese is pretty weird. It sounds like Chinese, but if you listen closely…" His eyes searched Louis' face. "It's still a little off."
Louis looked at him. Then swallowed.
Sima Li was close.
Too close.
Close enough for Louis to catch the faint scent of his cologne.
What was that?
It smelled nice.
Clean, warm, faintly sweet beneath something sharper.
Louis' gaze trailed briefly over him before he looked away. "I grew up in France," he said. "But this is the first time someone has pointed that out."
"I've always wanted to learn French," Sima Li said.
Louis looked at him. "Really?"
"Mm." Sima Li nodded. "But Yichen said it was just polished English with complications."
Louis, "…"
"Ahh." Sima Li stretched slightly. "But I know a few other languages. During tours in the past, the agency made us take language lessons."
"Oh?" Louis asked. "Which ones?"
Sima Li smiled.
"Spanish, English… I got lazy during the Japanese lessons and dumped it."
"Spanish?" Louis asked. "You can speak that?"
Sima Li nodded proudly. "I only learned it because I wanted to moan with it."
Louis, "…"
Why did he even ask?
Despite that, the conversation continued.
They talked. Then talked more.
Somehow, what should have been a short drink became an entire night of conversation.
They spoke about work, fans, language lessons, bad industry parties, andeverything in between.
Louis found himself laughing more than he expected.
By the time he was ready to leave, Sima Li had somehow managed to drink half of his glass.
With every sip, he immediately popped another candy into his mouth to chase away the bitterness. Louis had suggested more than once that he order something else, but Sima Li stubbornly refused.
Each expression he made while drinking only made Louis laugh harder.
Sima Li was like a child.
Stubborn, fussy, Impossible and strangely difficult to look away from.
Outside the bar, the night air was cooler.
Louis stood beside Sima Li as he lit a cigarette. Sima Li's cap was back on, and the hood of his jacket covered half his face.
"Did you drive?" Sima Li asked.
Louis nodded.
Sima Li leaned slightly against the wall and exhaled out. "I'm a bit tipsy. I don't think I can wait for Meixin to come pick me up."
Louis looked at him.
You certainly don't look that drunk to me.But I'll buy it.
"I'll drop you off, then."
Sima Li's lips curved beneath the shadow of his hood.
Somehow, that sounded more dangerous than the drink.
By the time Louis arrived at Sima Li's apartment building, Sima Li was already fast asleep.
Louis parked the car and glanced at him.
Sima Li's head was tilted slightly against the seat, his cap low over his face and his breathing slow and even. For someone who had insisted he could handle Louis' drink, he had lost the battle rather disgracefully.
Louis sighed.
He reached over and tapped his shoulder. "Hey."
No response.
Louis tried again, a little firmer this time. "Kid, wake up."
Still nothing.
Louis leaned back in his seat and stared at him.
Of course this would happen.
He got out of the car, walked around to the passenger side, and opened the door. Then he carefully helped Sima Li out, supporting most of his weight with one arm.
Once Sima Li was standing, barely, Louis tapped his cheek.
"Kid, wake up."
Sima Li's lashes fluttered. He blinked his eyes open slowly, looking dazed.
"I think that drink is pretty strong," he mumbled.
"I did warn you," Louis said.
He looked around the apartment building. It was tall, sleek, and expensive. The lobby alone looked like it cost more than his yearly patience.
Louis glanced at Sima Li, who was already dozing off again against his shoulder.
Which floor was his?
For one brief, very tempting second, Louis considered leaving him right there, he shook the thought away.
Nope.
Bad idea. A nice one, but bad.
Fine.
He would just drop the kid off.
Sima Li was a popular star. If anything happened to him, Louis had no doubt the whole country would somehow hold him guilty.
He led Sima Li into the elevator, keeping one arm around him to stop him from sliding to the floor.
"Which floor is yours?" Louis asked.
Sima Li's eyes barely opened. "Top…" he mumbled. "Top floor, I think."
Louis frowned. "You think?"
Sima Li did not answer.
Louis pressed the button for the top floor.
The elevator rose in smooth silence. Sima Li leaned heavily against him, warm and boneless, as if he had no intention of contributing to his own survival.
When the elevator doors opened, Louis helped him out and looked around.
There was only one door on the entire floor.
Louis paused.
Did the whole place belong to him? He looked down at Sima Li, who was practically dangling off his arm.
"Is this place yours?" Louis muttered.
Sima Li's eyes opened slowly. He straightened a little, blinking at the door. "Huh?" He rubbed his eyes. "I'm home."
Then he turned and looked at Louis. A smile spread across his face.
"Lou-wee," he said softly. "What are you doing here?"
Louis. "…"
We drank together.
I offered to drive you home and you fell asleep in my car like a defeated house cat.
Before Louis could say any of that, Sima Li reached up and cupped his face.
Louis froze, before he could react, Sima Li threw himself at him.
Both of them stumbled.
Louis tried to steady them, failed, and went crashing to the floor with Sima Li on top of him.
"Ouff... "
For one horrifying second, Louis felt something in his body protest.
Not break, a bad loudly protest.
Okay.
First of all, he was not that old. A simple fall should not feel like his bones were being reset.
Second...
He looked down.
Sima Li was lying on top of him, face pressed against his chest, looking far too comfortable for someone who had just attempted accidental murder.
Louis closed his eyes.
Never, ever drink with this kid again.
"Get off," he said.
Sima Li lifted his head slightly and tilted it. "Why?"
Louis opened his eyes.
Sima Li smiled lazily. "I like it here." he rubbed his face against Louis' chest.
Louis, "..."
This child.
This complete disaster.
"You're a top celebrity," Louis said, his voice tight. "Do you have any idea what will happen if anyone sees you like this?"
Sima Li's smile faded slightly. "Who cares?"
Louis paused.
Sima Li's voice was softer now, roughened by alcohol and exhaustion.
"It's exhausting having to keep up a perfect front anyway."
Louis looked at him.
For a moment, he said nothing.
This damn kid, he grabbed Sima Li by the shoulder and pushed him off to the side.
Sima Li rolled onto the floor with a soft groan.
Louis stood up, dusted himself off, and with one hand, hauled Sima Li back up.
"What's your passcode?"
Sima Li leaned close to the wall, blinking slowly. "Why?" His lips curved again. "Wanna visit next time?"
Louis grimaced. "Just give me the damn code."
Sima Li smiled. "Say please, Lou-wee."
Louis inhaled slowly.
He had handled contracts.
He had handled Mo Fei. He had handled brand executives with the emotional range of wet cardboard.
Yet somehow, this drunk singer in a hoodie was testing him beyond human endurance.
"Please," Louis bit out.
Sima Li's smile widened. "Cute."
Louis' eye twitched. "The code."
Sima Li leaned closer, as if he was about to share a national secret. "Zero… eight… two… four."
Louis frowned and repeated the numbers under his breath, committing them to memory. Then he turned toward the keypad.
"Louis," Sima Li suddenly asked, "do you like men?"
The question was so abrupt that Louis' fingers paused over the keypad, he simply stared at the door.
Then he answered, "Maybe. Why?"
He entered the code.
Behind him, Sima Li shifted.
It happened too fast.
One second, Sima Li was leaning against the wall. The next, he stumbled forward, grabbed Louis' sleeve for balance, and crashed into him.
Louis turned at exactly the wrong moment. Sima Li's lips brushed against his.
Both of them froze.
The hallway went completely still.
The contact was brief. Barely a second.
Soft, warm and yet, somehow, it struck through Louis harder than the drink had struck through Sima Li.
Louis' eyes widened slightly.
Sima Li blinked at him, dazed and unfocused, he smiled faintly. "That's good," he mumbled.
Louis' brain stopped working.
Completely, he forgot every language he had ever learned.
French. Chinese.English.
Gone.
Then reality crashed back into him.
He grabbed Sima Li by the shoulders, ready to push him away.
"You…"
He stopped.
Sima Li had dozed off again.
Louis, "…"
What was he even supposed to say?
You menace?
You drunk disaster? You national hazard?
Sima Li slept innocently against him, as if he had not just ruined the entire structure of Louis' peace with one careless brush of his mouth.
Louis shut his eyes briefly.
Never drink with this kid again.
Never drive this kid home again.
Never stand too close to this kid again.
He opened his eyes, pushed the door open with unnecessary force, and the lock released with a soft beep.
Louis dragged Sima Li inside.
"As if my week hasn't been shitty enough," he muttered. "Unfortunately, tonight one of them is babysitting."
He looked up at the ceiling.
Somewhere, somehow, he must have offended a god.
Sima Li slumped gently to the floor like a beautiful, expensive problem.
Louis stared down at him for a moment.
No guilt.
Absolutely no guilt.
The man had a floor. The floor could have him.
Without looking back, Louis turned, stepped out of the apartment, and slammed the door behind him.
The hallway fell silent again.
Louis stood there for one second, hand still on the door, he exhaled sharply and walked away.
"Fuck!"