What Are Your Tastes? chapter 27
Can Gay People Like Straight People?
In his early years, Zhou Yanchuan didn’t even know that “gay” people existed, let alone considered understanding them. Later, as he developed in the city and met more people, he gained a vague idea.
Later, he accidentally saw online posts and Weibo speculating that he was gay. He found it amusing rather than offensive, at least since there were no rumors linking him to specific individuals, it didn’t affect others.
Now, with Lu Yunshu revealing his identity, Zhou Yanchuan finally knew a real gay person and accepted it without any reservations, as he had said. They tacitly stopped discussing the topic in their subsequent interactions.
Life went on as usual. Zhou Yanchuan fulfilled his promise by placing his cousin in the company’s security team and helped him apply for a dormitory. The rented apartment wasn’t vacated for now; his aunt said this month’s rent was already paid, and she would stay there before returning to her hometown next month. Since it didn’t concern him, Zhou Yanchuan didn’t interfere further.
Mid-November, the weather turned cold, and daylight came later. Although Zhou Yanchuan didn’t have to get up early, making breakfast every day was still a bit tight. Most of the time, he bought bread to keep at home, and occasionally, if he wanted something hot, he would stop by “Changxi” on his way to work.
Changxi was a well-known local breakfast brand with a large scale, having chain stores all over the city and opening its doors before six o’clock every day. He usually went to the one opposite Renmin Hospital, which was conveniently on his way to work.
He went there early on Tuesday morning, just past seven o’clock. The sky was already bright, the early winter sun was a pale white, and it still felt chilly outside. As soon as he pushed the door open and stepped inside, he felt surrounded by warmth, not knowing if it was due to the crowd or the heating.
Zhou Yanchuan ordered hot porridge, side dishes, and a scallion pancake, sitting alone in a corner. Ever since an enthusiastic elderly man recognized him as the chairman of Hongchuan and chatted with him for over ten minutes while he was eating out, he had been particularly careful to lower his presence in public.
That day, having left early, he could enjoy his breakfast slowly. Around seven-thirty, two young women entered through the back door.
“An Yuan jie, do you often come here for breakfast?”
Zhou Yanchuan hadn’t been paying much attention to the entrance, but hearing a familiar name unexpectedly, he glanced over and indeed saw Mo Ziyang’s cousin. The girl next to her also looked very familiar.
He had only seen Ning Ruowei once before when he was walking the dog with Lu Yunchu. More than two months had passed since then, and his impression had faded, but the colorful spots on Ning Ruowei’s pants, resembling “splattered paint,” immediately triggered his memory. Wasn’t she the girl he had mistaken for Lu Yunchu’s girlfriend?
The two girls didn’t notice his presence and, after picking up their meals at the counter, looked around aimlessly for an empty seat. By this time, the shop was already full. Zhou Yanchuan had planned to greet An Yuan anyway, and since he was almost finished, he called out to them, “Dr. An, sit over here.”
An Yuan wasn’t too surprised to see Zhou Yanchuan, as they had met here before. Ning Ruowei was slightly stunned but quickly greeted him as usual, “Mr. Zhou, you come here to eat too?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know each other?” An Yuan asked her.
“I often see him in the media, how could I not recognize him? Besides, he’s now my friend’s neighbor,” Ning Ruowei said cheerfully. “How are you and Yunchu?”
Zhou Yanchuan wasn’t sure what she meant by “how are you,” probably referring to whether they got along well, so he responded lightly, “We’re fine.”
“My cousin works at Mr. Zhou’s company,” An Yuan informed Ning Ruowei.
Ning Ruowei had roughly understood the relationships between these people from eavesdropping in the garage that time, but she still pretended to learn this for the first time, nodding, “That’s great.”
The two of them sat across from him.
Although Zhou Yanchuan and An Yuan knew each other, they never had much to talk about beyond the most ordinary pleasantries. He had even less to say to Ning Ruowei, and worried that they might feel uncomfortable, he smiled and said, “I’m almost done, feel free to take your time.”
After acknowledging him, Ning Ruowei continued to chat softly with An Yuan. An Yuan didn’t talk much, usually responding with a simple “hmm” or a slight nod after the other person finished a sentence.
An Yuan’s introversion, which even seemed cold, had long given Zhou Yanchuan the impression that she wasn’t easy to get along with. But Ning Ruowei seemed entirely unaffected by this atmosphere, continuing to chatter cheerfully, sometimes seemingly trying to enliven the mood.
As Zhou Yanchuan marveled at this, Lu Yunchu’s unfinished words from a few days ago flashed in his mind, “She also—”. Also what? Could she be gay too?
Even though Zhou Yanchuan wasn’t the type to meddle in others’ affairs, he couldn’t help but let his mind wander into gossip.
Can you tell if someone is gay just by looking at them? Lu Yunchu said they were ordinary people too, so probably not. At least the girl in front of him didn’t seem any different, and sitting with An Yuan, they looked like normal close friends.
But An Yuan had been married, and was straight. Can a lesbian fall for a straight person? This also contradicted his previous understanding.
Zhou Yanchuan couldn’t determine if his guess was accurate. He only knew that he felt very unnecessary here. Quickly finishing his remaining food, he stood up and bid farewell to the two.
He didn’t mention this little episode to Mo Ziyang when he got to the office. After all, Mo Ziyang had said his cousin was particularly independent and never let family interfere in her affairs. Even her cousin couldn’t control her, so Zhou Yanchuan saw no reason to be concerned.
Mo Ziyang was following up on a factory acquisition plan and came to report early in the morning.
“Director Yang pointed out that there are discrepancies in the finances,” he said. “We might need to review it again.”
“Don’t follow up anymore,” Zhou Yanchuan said after going through the documents. “Reject it.”
“You’re giving it up?” Mo Ziyang leaned on the desk. “If there are no problems, it’s a huge opportunity. Are you willing to let it go?”
“There aren’t that many good things falling from the sky. If there are debt disputes, we’ll lose big,” Zhou Yanchuan shook his head. “I trust Director Yang’s judgment. Let’s not waste any more time.”
“You’re right,” Mo Ziyang gathered the documents. “What about the other directors?”
“I’ll tell everyone at the next meeting.”
This didn’t cause much of a stir in the company. Zhou Yanchuan never dragged out decisions and rarely made judgment errors. If not for this, Hongchuan wouldn’t have reached its current success smoothly.
In the blink of an eye, it was the weekend again.
When Lu Yunchu saw Tao Jin again, Tao Jin looked better and proactively mentioned the bar incident, feeling remorseful for his impulsiveness. It was something Tao Jin had to come to terms with himself, so Lu Yunchu didn’t say much more. Besides class interactions, they watched Sabrina’s video together.
After all the students left that day, Lu Yunchu didn’t go home immediately. He went downstairs and smoked alone in the reception room, the door half-closed.
Outside the window was a camphor tree, actually separated from the studio by a small road, adjacent to the opposite shops. But the tree was tall, appearing close at hand.
Smoke dispersed, the tiny red glow at the tip of the cigarette slowly approached his thin lips in a regular pattern. He thought no one would come at this hour, but just as he lit his second cigarette, the door was suddenly pushed open.