1046 SURPRISING DISCOVERY
LUO YAN was a bit intrigued when he heard that. But not enough to inquire about the personal matters of someone who he wasn't even close to. So, he promptly changed the topic.
"Should we order? What will you recommend?"
"There's a lot of good drinks here, and dessert as well."
"Why don't you order for both us?" Luo Yan suggested with a smile. "Surprise me, hmm?"
That seemed to trigger Shen Ji Yun's need to impress him as he quickly sat up and walked to the counter. He chuckled seeing that. He looked around the inside of the shop once again. This time, with more scrutiny than when he first walked into the shop.
That's when his gaze landed on a particular spot on the wall. It was a small picture of four people. Despite it being a bit far from where he was sitting, his 20/20 vision could still recognize all the people in the picture.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtFeeling surprised, he found himself walking towards it. Now that he was closer, his initial guess on who the people in the picture were was indeed correct.
It was a picture of four men. The first two looked like they were in their late 20s or early 30s. One couldn't really tell because both looked young for their age. The other two, though, looked much younger.
The one on the leftmost side was a handsome guy, wearing glasses. His arm was draped over the shoulder of a man who was more pretty than handsome. The two were smiling happily in front of the camera.
Beside them was a tall and lean man with a stylish hairstyle. There was a certain charming and decadent air about him, like someone who was just naturally seductive. He was hugging the arm of the youngest of them. This man had messy short hair and even messier clothes. He appeared like he didn't want to be there, but the redness of his face as he was looking at the man on his side betrayed his true feelings.
Strangely enough, despite the difference in age, they looked like a group of very close friends.
Luo Yan blinked. Although the four people in the picture all looked younger here, he could still recognize them. All of them. From left to right they were Uncle Yi Mu, Uncle Yue, Mr. Yuan, and Brother Zhao.
It wasn't really that much of a surprise for him that the four knew each other. Like he already knew that Uncle Yue and Mr. Yuan knew each other. Of course, there's Uncle Yi Mu and Brother Zhao who's working in the same company. But he didn't expect that the last two would also be connected to Mr. Yuan. Or that all of them would be friends. And pretty close ones at that.
He suddenly remembered what Shen Ji Yun said about this coffee shop. That it was built by Brother Zhao for someone. Then he thought of Mr. Yuan being the manager and chef of the small restaurant at Guizhu Academy. The name of the pavilion he won during the birthday of the emperor of Arcadia also came to mind.
Yuexing. Jiang 'Yue' and Yuang 'Xing'.
It's like puzzle pieces inside his head just clicked and everything suddenly made sense.
"Yan Yan, what are you looking at?" Shen Ji Yun's voice asked, coming from behind.
He looked back and saw that the other was holding a tray. One was just a cup of simple black Americano, and the other seemed to be a matcha frappuccino. There was also a plate of what seemed to be scones.
"This picture," he answered honestly. "I just saw it earlier and recognized everyone in it."
Shen Ji Yun also looked at the picture. He was familiar with it since he had been here before and had also seen it. Then the last part of what Luo Yan said suddenly caught his attention.
"You know Brother Yuan?"
"Oh, so Brother Ji Yun also knows him?" Luo Yan asked, feeling a bit unexpected. "Wait, before you answer, let's sit down first."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmShen Ji Yun agreed and walked to their table. He put the drinks and the plate of scones on the table, then put the tray on the free seat before sitting down. Luo Yan also sat down.
"I know Mr. Yuan because he's the manager and chef of the restaurant we usually eat at during lunch," Luo Yan started. "It's a small restaurant located at our school."
This obviously surprised Shen Ji Yun as evidence of the slight widening of his eyes. "So, that's where he'd been."
Luo Yan tilted his head, not understanding what Shen Ji Yun meant. Shen Ji Yun seemed to see that and continued;
"He's a close friend of Uncle, Uncle Yue, and Brother Zhao. I often saw him visiting Brother Zhao before, bringing him food. Then, a few years back, he suddenly stopped coming. I asked Uncle and Brother Zhao before, but uncle only shook his head and said it's not his place to say, and Brother Zhao only had this dark expression on his face. I had a feeling that they didn't really want to talk about it, so I no longer asked them about Brother Yuan."
Luo Yan nodded, arranging the information in his mind. Although he said that he shouldn't pry into other people's personal lives, but this situation was really making his curiosity burst.
"Brother Ji Yun, were Mr. Yuan and Brother Zhao in that kind of romantic relationship before?" he asked in an almost whisper.
Shen Ji Yun blinked, then an embarrassed expression appeared on his face. "That- I actually don't know. I mean, even if they were, I probably wouldn't have noticed."
Luo Yan couldn't help but smile helplessly when he heard that. Yes, that thought wouldn't probably even cross his innocent cinnamon roll's mind. Heck, he wouldn't even be surprised if the other didn't even know that Uncle Yi Mu and Uncle Yue were actually in that kind of relationship.
The only reason this adorable guy now knew how to flirt and expressed his desires was because Luo Yan had 'stained' him. Yes, this formerly blank sheet of white paper was now slowly being dyed red by Luo Yan.