Nie Chang went two stations with the subway, got off and hurried to the one that came from the other direction. He knew only roughly in which cabin Su Yan would be so he couldn’t gauge where exactly he had to board.

The subway entered the station and halted. Nie Chang looked for anything that seemed familiar but he couldn’t find anything. Whatever, he’d leave it to fate. There wasn’t anything he could do about it.

He entered the cabin in front of him and looked toward the end. Not there.

Shit!

Nie Chang pushed through the throng of people, ran outside again and hastened to the next door. He leaped inside just before it closed. He didn’t have the time to feel relieved, though. His gaze locked onto the end of the wagon. Fuck! There they were. And that hateful guy was still all over his Su Yan!

He pushed forward and grabbed Li Ming by the shoulder, pulling him off Su Yan and pushing him back. He hesitated for one moment, then he punched him in the face. By the time there was the thud of someone falling, he had already turned around to Su Yan and gently took him by the arms. "Are you alright? Did he do anything else besides kissing you?"

Su Yan could only stare foolishly at Nie Chang. Then, he actually teared up. "Ah Chang!" He burrowed into his arms, clutched his shirt and sobbed.

Uh, he had actually been mistaken for someone who liked men, more or less confessed to by a male co-worker and even been taken advantage of. He felt like dying right now. Why was all of this happening? His whole life seemed to be going off-track!

Nie Chang was taken aback. He would never have thought that Su Yan would take it this badly. "Ah, it’s alright. I’m here now. Nobody’s going to do anything to you."

Behind him, Li Ming got to his feet again. "Fuck! What do you think you’re doing?!"

Nie Chang continued to hold onto Su Yan but he turned half around to throw Li Ming a grim look. "What did it look like to you? I saved someone from a molester!"

The people around had already started looking over and whispering when Nie Chang stormed in and punched Li Ming. Now the whispers got louder. Some people standing a little farther away were even pointing at Li Ming.

The security guard froze. How had him reciprocating Su Yan’s feelings turned into him being a molester? Yes, he still believed Su Yan was in love with him and just too shy or too embarrassed to confess his feelings.

"You … What do you know? It was nothing like that. Some random passerby shouldn’t just assume whatever he wants and butt into other peoples’ business!"

Nie Chang frowned. Random passerby? He’d show that guy! He snorted. "What random passerby? Check your facts before you harass someone again. I’m his boyfriend!"

Li Ming could only stand there. "Boy … Boyfriend? Su Yan has a boyfriend? That … That can’t be right! He’s clearly in love with me!"

"Tch! Delusional! Does someone in love look like this?" Nie Chang pulled Su Yan a little closer. His friend was still crying. After his brain had caught up with what was happening, he was even more appalled.

He clung to Nie Chang as if hanging on for dear life. Whoever saw him like this wouldn’t doubt that he had indeed been harassed. Even Li Ming, seeing him like that, couldn’t help but gulp.

Had he really misunderstood everything? How could that be? Zhi Bao Yu had told him that Su Yan definitely had a crush on him and he had seen Su Yan blushing right in front of him when the others brought up that he was gay.

"No, this … this can’t be. He said he isn’t into men! How could you be his boyfriend? You’re clearly lying!"

Nie Chang frowned. "Fuck! He told you he isn’t into men so you went ahead and kissed him? How sick can you be?!"

Li Ming clenched his fists. "You’re clearly not his boyfriend!"

Nie Chang narrowed his eyes and rubbed Su Yan’s back. Damn, he just wanted to leave the subway and take him home. Why did he have to argue with this guy? "Do you still don’t get it? He just said he doesn’t like men so he wouldn’t have to hurt your feelings. But you fucking took advantage of his friendliness and had a go at him! Scum! Stay away!" He hugged Su Yan closer and his voice turned gentler when he turned toward him. "Ah Yan, let’s get out of here, alright? I’ll bring you home."

"Mn." Su Yan’s sobbing finally stopped but he still trembled a little.

Nie Chang pulled him out of the subway at the next station and to a relatively quiet corner. "Are you alright?" His voice sounded hoarse. Seeing Su Yan like this broke his own heart, too.

Su Yan nodded but he stayed in Nie Chang’s embrace and didn’t even lift his head.

"Come on. Talk to me. Don’t keep it to yourself. Let me help you."

Su Yan finally looked up. His eyes were red and his cheeks still wet. Nie Chang couldn’t help but smile wryly. Even like this Su Yan still looked adorable. Ah, he just loved him too much!

"You’re still laughing!" Su Yan slapped his arm and wanted to turn away but Nie Chang grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"I’m sorry." He bent down and wiped the traces of the tears from Su Yan’s cheeks. "I’m really sorry." And in more than one respect. Because as much as he wanted to claim to be a good person, he knew that that person in the subway who brought Su Yan to tears could very well have been him. He loved him and he wanted him and maybe one day he would have felt that he had waited long enough and then done something that couldn’t be undone. Well, after seeing this reaction from Su Yan, he was probably safe from ever trying something like that.

"Come on. I’ll bring you home." He wrapped Su Yan in his arms again and accompanied him home. He even went so far as to busy himself in the kitchen. He somehow felt like he should give Su Yan a little bit of time to himself before he went back.

Indeed. In the living room, Su Yan was deep in thought. He still couldn’t believe how absurd his life had suddenly gotten. This … really felt like the plot of some novel. And not one of the good kind for the protagonist. The question was: What should he do now?