Wang Li spent the first week of his summer break with Xu Chen, although he had spent only three days away from his best friend, he truly felt his heart was breaking and needed his quality time with his soulmate.

"ChenChen, what show should we watch now?"

Xu Chen was bringing in a plate of fruit while holding a bag of chips in his mouth as he walked into his bedroom. Unlike most people who would spend their summer outside at cafes or theme parks, the two little virgins had spent the first week of summer break watching dramas. Xu Chen slowly placed the fruit down before taking the bag of chips from his mouth to speak.

"Xiao Li, can we watch something that isn't romance, I can't take anymore straight love."

Wang Li felt the same and searched online to find a good gay show, with the help of Xu Chen's VPN, he was able to find a few Taiwanese BL shows. With a selection of homo erotic shows, the two hermits spent another three days inside.

Although Wang Li spent every day with Xu Chen, he made sure to keep the fire burning between him and Kong Da, every night he would send a short message while in bed. Most times it was wishing Kong Da a good sleep, other times he asked how the handsome man's day was going. Kong Da would mostly ignore or forget these messages since he would be working on tattoos whenever Wang Li messaged him. Suo Su had noticed Kong Da's phone notifications and became curious after ten days, especially when he saw how Kong Da never checked his phone after his work was done.

"Who is messaging you? Is it Xiao Li?"

Kong Da was busy working and shrugged his shoulders before Suo Su reached into his pants pocket to take the phone out. Like he had guessed, he saw the stream of messages Wang Li sent over the past several days.

Hehe, Suo Su laughed under his breath as he unlocked the phone and sent a message back. Kong Da was busy finishing off a large piece on a woman's chest, meaning he couldn't focus on what Suo Su was doing.

King Kong: Fu~ Work is so tiring. Make me feel better Xiao Li.

Wang Li never expected Kong Da to answer and would put his phone away after sending the message but when he received a reply back, he couldn't help but kick his feet out of excitement. Mr Wang was busy sitting at the small hotel table and only shot a curious look at his son before returning his gaze to his laptop.

Suo Su hadn't returned Kong Da's phone to him after sending the reply, instead he walked to the sofa, sitting down beside a tired Fang Mei. When she noticed what he was doing, she quickly sat up in excitement.

"Let me message Xiao Li."

Fang Mei reached over to snatch the phone but Suo Su was too fast and lightly slapped her hand.

"If I let you do it, he'll know instantly that someone else is messaging."

Fang Mei blew a raspberry at him before peeking over his shoulder to snoop on the messages between the two, however she was disappointed.

"How come Da Ge doesn't reply?"

"Xiao Li is messaging at the wrong time, our studio closes anywhere between 10:30 pm and midnight in the summer but he's messaging at 10:00, of course the King won't see these."

After Suo Su had finished talking Wang Li had sent a reply. Though his reply was not what they expected.

Tang Li: Is your blood sugar low Da Ge?

"Fu~ I thought he would send something juicy or romantic but he chooses to play doctor instead."

Fang Mei slumped back into the seat disappointed, Suo Su leaned back too as he thought of how to answer in a way that would sound like Kong Da but not sound like Kong Da. A few minutes passed and Wang Li thought he wasn't going to get a reply when his phone buzzed and his face blushed then he buried his face into his pillow, Mr Wang ignored his son's actions while he typed on his keyboard loudly.

King Kong: Maybe I need to eat something, do plums sound good?

*Li means plum*

Fang Mei peeked over Suo Su's shoulder again and laughed creepily. Suo Su was thinking that maybe he moved too fast since five minutes had passed and there was no reply. The two phone thieves' eyes were glued to the screen busy waiting; during their intense wait, Kong Da had finished his client's chest piece and was wrapping it when he looked over at Suo Su to see him holding his phone.

Kong Da quickly finished wrapping the tattoo in plastic wrap then walked over to the sofa, leaving his client to walk herself out. Suo Su snapped to attention when he felt Kong Da's cold presence and threw the phone into Fang Mei's lap as if it was a burning piece of coal. Kong Da didn't bother with questions and picked his phone up only to throw it back to the couch and grab onto Suo Su's shirt, lifting him from the couch so he could glare at him.

"What games are you playing?"

Suo Su didn't panic and simply slapped Kong Da's hand from his shirt and straightened his clothes out.

"I was simply answering in your place, if you don't give a little, Xiao Li will move on."

"And that's a bad thing?"

Kong Da's phone dinged and Fang Mei snatched it from the sofa before Kong Da could, she read the message and squealed happily before chucking the phone to Suo Su but Kong Da caught it first and turned around to read the message.

Tang Li: Can I come see you tomorrow?

Disregarding teh look on Kong Da's face, Suo Su spoke matter of factly.

"We all see that you don't mind Xiao Li, even if you don't develop feelings for him. I'm sure he wouldn't mind being just friends. Besides, everyone here likes Xiao Li too."

While Suo Su was talking behind Kong Da's shoulder, he was slowly reaching for the phone in hopes of sending a reply but his actions were caught. Kong Da elbowed the man behind him before locking his phone and putting it back in his pocket. Suo Su gave up with a loud humph then walked up the stairs where JieJie was drawing. Fang Mei looked as if she wanted to say something but held her tongue when Kong Da gave her a cold stare.

Wang Li waited with his phone clutched in his hands but after fifteen minutes he still hadn't gotten a reply. Mr Wang had finished off his work for the day and sighed tiredly while he walked over to Wang Li's bed.

"Who are you messaging so late, I don't believe it could be Xiao Chen since you spend every second of sunshine with him."

Wang Li hid his phone under his pillow and tried to act normal but the look from his Dad made it obvious that he couldn't hide. Wang Li didn't want to show his Dad the message Kong Da had sent him but came clean about his crush and attempts at wooing. Once his truth was out, Wang Li was hoping for advice but needed to know if his Dad had experience to begin with.

"Dad, have you ever had a boyfriend?"

Mr Wang was a little shocked from the question but recovered quickly and scooted his son over so that they were sitting in bed together.

"I had a sort of boyfriend in university but it fizzled out quickly. And well Xiao Li, there is this man I've been seeing for a few months now."

Wang Li gasped loudly from the shock. His Dad was hesitant to say this since he technically had cheated on Wang YiFei, even though the marriage was doomed from the beginning, nobody wants to be cheated on. Mr Wang was also reluctant to say since this could be too much for Wang Li to process too soon. Wang Li however, was the complete opposite of his Dad and begged for details.

"Well, he has shares in my company and we met when he was having a tour through our building. He made the first move and at first I was ignoring it since I was married and scared but after a while of him coming to the company and asking me to countless dinners, I slowly welcomed the idea of being honest about my sexuality."

Wang Li leaned against his Dad's shoulder, he didn't know what his Dad must've felt during those years of hiding who you are. As soon as Wang Li knew he was gay, he told Xu Chen and the too of them searched around for anything to do with Gay culture. After their research, Xu Chen came out to him a couple days later. Snaping Wang Li out of his thoughts, Mr Wang poked his sons cheek.

"What about this guy that you like, tell me more about him."

Wang Li talked about Kong Da and the time they spent together over the weekend at the campsite, leaving out the details of the foreigner. Mr Wang listened silently and when his son had finished, he gave a bit of advice.

"I know I don't have the greatest experience but I can see that the two of you know each other pretty well now and it's best if you make it clear what your intentions are and find out his. Is he wanting a relationship or just a, you know."

Wang Li thought of the message from earlier and felt a little complicated. He hadn't considered that maybe Kong Da was only hesitant towards him because he was only wanting a hookup. The actions at the campsite contradicted this though, or did it? Is he a possessive lover? Wang Li was now confused and burrowed into bed again. His Dad left the bed to shower and call it a night.

. . . . . .

In the morning, Wang Li decided that it would be best to take his Dad's advice and properly talk to Kong Da about what the two of them wanted. At the moment, Wang Li knew he liked Kong Da for more than his face and could honestly confess about the qualities he found attractive. Although the studio was a comfortable place for him, he still brought Xu Chen along for support. Mr Wang dropped the two of them at the studio entrance and gave his son an encouraging smile before driving away. Wang Li turned to Xu Chen hoping to find some comfort for his fast beating heart.

"Do you think he is the type to only want sex?"

"Not really but I don't know."

His Dad's words had really confused him and now that he was standing in front of the studio, he was rather nervous about hearing Kong Da's answer. The pair were about to walk forward when Wang Li was grabbed from behind by an angry man and Xu Chen was pushed to the ground by a stocky man. 

Wang Li struggled in the unknown man's embrace and stomped onto the person's foot before turning on the spot, his leg kicked up and he swung it down onto the man's face. Xu Chen however, wasn't gifted in fighting and he could only lay on the ground scared while the man who had shoved him made a move towards Wang Li from behind. Xu Chen was about to call out but Kong Da and a man he hadn't seen before ran out of the studio.

The man from behind threw a punch at Wang Li but he turned and ducked from the punch then quickly stepped back as Kong Da tackled the man, the unknown helper targeted the man who Wang Li had kicked in the face, throwing a heavy punch to the already bruised face knocking him out cold. Kong Da had dragged the man from the ground to a nearby wall and was holding him against it. He was talking in the man's ear but Wang Li didn't care to try and listen as he quickly ran to Xu Chen.

"Are you okay, ChenChen?"

Xu Chen stood up and showed his grazed palms to Wang Li pathetically.

"It's nothing, were you hurt?"

Xu Chen quickly inspected Wang Li and found no injuries thankfully. Suo Su was now walking out of the studio and rushed them inside before going out to see Kong Da. JieJie was waiting by the front desk and pulled the two boys into the large room so they wouldn't see what was happening outside. As he reached the area where the group of men were, Suo Su stood behind Kong Da, watching as he was now screaming in the men's faces.

"I told you already, 200,000 RMB and that's it. Your family drops the charges."

"You think money solves what you did? You're a murderer. Where is my sister now? SHE'S FUCKING DEAD!"

Kong Da eyes were red as he relentlessly punched the man in front of him. Suo Su and the stranger left him before puling him away after his fist had become bruised. The helpful stranger walked over to the bruised and bloodied men, he stood only a few centimeters away from their faces as he spoke quietly to them.

"I understand your pain, but if you come here or anywhere near Kong Da again. I'll kill every single person in your family register."

The two men saw how serious this person talking to them was and dejectedly walked away without putting up a fight. Kong Da rubbed at his eyes while Suo Su watched the men leave. Once he saw they had vanished from sight, he brought the two men back to the studio.

Inside the studio, Wang Li was a little antsy from the adrenaline rush and was pacing behind Xu Chen. During this, JieJie was cleaning Xu Chen's hands from dirt and afterwards she rubbed a cream medicine over the area, she was about to pull out gauze and bandages but Xu Chen quickly shook his head.

"There's no need for a bandage JieJie, it's only a graze."

Kong Da walked into the room and Wang Li stopped his pacing to walk over, his mission of the day long forgotten and he was more worried about the handsome man.

"Da Ge are you okay?"

Kong Da was a little out of sorts from the man's words and walked past Wang Li without acknowledging him. The helpful stranger plopped onto the sofa besides the armchair Xu Chen was sitting on and spoke to Wang Li.

"Don't mind him, he needs to get his mind in order then he'll be fine."

Wang Li didn't know who this man was and he didn't look like he was here to get a tattoo. Suo Su walked to sit beside the unknown man, afterwards he introduced him to both Wang Li an Xu Chen.

"Ma Tian, he grew up with Xiao Da."

Wang Li introduced himself as well as Xu Chen. After the introduction, he walked over to Xu Chen and squeezed himself into the small space left on the armchair. Ma Tian looked between the two of them curiously.

"Boyfriends?"

Both Xu Chen and Wang Li shook their heads while Suo Su whispered that Wang Li had his eyes on Kong Da. Ma Tian scoffed at this news before turning towards Xu Chen who was closest to him, cocking his head to the side with a grin.

"Who are you after? Don't tell me it's this old man next to me"

This question was too bold because If Wang Li was shy then Xu Chen was a hermit, his cheeks flushed red as he looked down at the ground and whispered.

"No-Nobody."

Ma Tian laughed at Xu Chen's reaction before spreading his arms out.

"I'm single, seduce me as you please."

Suo Su quickly smacked the back of Ma Tian's head as he chuckled and stood up to prepare his machine for his client. Wang Li snaked his arms around Xu Chen as he looked Ma Tian up and down. The man was taller than him but shorter than Kong Da, he was a similar build to Kong Da and had two sleeves, though instead of being made up of multiple tattoos, his were made up of one large piece on each arm. A red dragon on his left and a blue dragon on his right, the empty spaces on his arms were coloured in with jet black ink. Xu Chen didn't know how to react to someone like Ma Tian and chose to look around the room instead of talking, trying his best to cool his burning cheeks.

Ma Tian leaned closer to Xu Chen with puppy eyes but a sly smile as he waited for a reply but Kong Da walked down the stairs and called out to him.

"Are you ready?"

"Can we do it out here, private rooms are too stuffy. Also if it hurts too much, I can look at this little cutie and feel better."

Xu Chen had never felt so embarrassed and pushed his head against Wang Li, his friend already sending a cold glare to this cocky man. Kong Da ignored his friend and made his way to the private room, calling out once he was inside with an annoyed tone.

"No one wants to see you cock now hurry up."

Both Wang Li and Xu Chen looked over at Ma Tian with bewildered eyes, their gazes hovered over his crotch before returning to his face. Ma Tian only shrugged as if he was unfazed and stood up, before he left the seating area he winked down at Xu Chen. When he was about to enter the private room, he turned and called out.

"Xiao Chen, If you want you can come along and hold my hand."

Wang Li glared at Ma Tian and was close to cursing the man out but Ma Tian simply laughed loudly at the two youths' vastly different reactions then closed the door. Wang Li could hear Kong Da's irritated voice as well as Ma Tian's loud laughter coming from the room. He squirmed in the small seat and looked at Xu Chen's red face seriously.

"Don't date that weirdo."

"I didn't say I wanted to."

Wang Li nodded his head seriously before moving to the sofa, but he only sat for a few seconds before moving back to his seat beside Xu Chen.

"Who do you think those men were? I recognized one of them from when I ended up in hospital but I didn't recognize the other one."

"I don't know, but do you think that maybe Kong Da might be involved in bad things?"

Suo Su heard the two whispering as he set up his machine in the large room and quietly made his way over, standing behind them. Wang Li was whispering about how he trusted Kong Da was a good person who wouldn't be involved in criminal activity when Suo Su placed a hand on the pair's shoulders. Xu Chen jumped in fear whilst Wang Li gasped and turned to see Suo Su.

"Xiao Da isn't a criminal, if you want the full story you need to ask him. Though I don't know how much he is willing to say."

Suo Su ruffled both boys' heads before walking to the entrance to wait for his client. Wang Li sat beside Xu Chen quietly, he fully trusted that Kong Da wasn't a criminal but the violent men from earlier didn't seem like innocent citizens. Xu Chen didn't bother with his opinion since he wasn't close to the people at the studio like Wang Li, he could only say he was comfortable with JieJie and didn't like to give opinions on things he didn't know anything about.

Suo Su came back into the room grumbling to himself and lazed across the whole sofa, a sour look on his face.

"If you want a tattoo you gotta commit, not say I want this then pull out at the last minute."

Xu Chen and Wang Li sat quietly while Suo Su grumbled to himself, after a while he seemed better and gave the two of them an apologetic look.

"Sorry, I shouldn't be saying these things but this client does this every time she wants work done."

Wang Li nodded before he thought back to the bonfire at the campsite.

"Suo Su, why did you get your thingy tattooed?"

The question came out of nowhere for Suo Su and he laughed heartily. Xu Chen hadn't known Suo Su had a penis tattoo and stared at Wang Li in shock since he wondered how his friend had come to find this out. Through his laughter, Suo Su poked fun.

"You want one?"

Both Wang Li and Xu Chen shook their heads in fear, their scared expressions made Suo Su laugh even louder. After he calmed down, Suo Su spoke while wiping his tears.

"At the time I thought it was cool so I got it done, If you did want it, I would personally recommend the King, he did mine and it barely hurt."

"What is the design?"

Wang Li tried to hide his surprise that Kong Da had been the one to tattoo Suo Su's penis, his inquiry for more details garnered a side glance from his friend beside him.

"Hehe, don't tell JieJie I told you but snake scales."

Wang Li and Xu Chen didn't have time to react when Kong Da and Ma Tian came out of the room, laughing. Suo Su rolled his eyes at them as the two made their way to the seating area. Ma Tian grinned at Xu Chen teasingly as he pushed Suo Su away so he could sit closer to the shy boy. Kong Da sat on the free sofa and looked over at Wang Li.

"Earlier, were you hurt?"

"No, what did those people want Da Ge?"

Kong Da shook his head like he had back on the train, refusing to answer Wang Li. Suo Su sighed before he got up and made his way upstairs to look for JieJie. Ma Tian was busy leaning his body forward as he looked up into Xu Chen's shy face, Xu Chen quickly sat up and looked away, this man was really too bold for him. His blush from before had only begun to fade but with Ma Tian's teasing, it came back again. Kong Da moved to sit beside Ma Tian and slapped his friend's stomach with the back of his hand.

"You're scaring him."

Wang Li held onto Xu Chen from the side while Ma Tian sat up properly with an apologetic face and placed his hand over his heart.

"Sorry, I'll buy you dinner to make up for it."

"N-No, you don't need to."

Ma Tian clapped his hands and stood up whilst announcing he would buy dinner for the four of them and ushered everyone up, ignoring the loud refusal as he led the way outside. Kong Da walked at the back of the line watching Wang Li hold Xu Chen's hand as if he was protecting him, after looking at the two young men, he stared at the ground and thought of what happened earlier.

It seemed Ma Tian already had a place decided and on the way to the restaurant, Wang Li slowed down a little, leaving Xu Chen to walk a couple steps ahead while he waited for Kong Da. Ma Tian took this opportunity and he turned back to walk beside the timid Xu Chen.

Kong Da thought over the messages Suo Su had sent Wang Li last night and wasn't sure if he should tell Wang Li the truth or not, as well as the truth about those men from earlier. Wang Li watched the confused Kong Da and gently rubbed the crease forming between his straight eyebrows. Kong Da snapped out of his daze and stared at Wang Li gently smiling up at him. The same shiver from when he had touched up Wang Li's tattoo ran down his back causing the confusion to double in Kong Da's mind. He thought about how similar this gentle smile was to the girl from eight years ago.

"Hurry up, Xiao Chen is hungry."

Ma Tian shouted from down the street, an arm around the red faced Xu Chen's shoulder. Kong Da shook his head as he tried to clear it and walked with quick steps, leaving Wang Li behind.