Chris held his fork and knife, stuffing large pieces of juicy and tender beef into his mouth, chewing vigorously. His cheeks bulged like a robust hamster.

"Is it enough? Do you want more?" 

Chris didn't bother to respond, and Stephen called the waiter over, pointing at the menu. "Another portion of Beef Wellington, a serving of Spanish seafood stew, and a plate of Wagyu spring rolls."

Chris swallowed the food and looked a bit embarrassed. "Did I eat too much?"

"As long as you're not uncomfortable."

"I'm fine. I'm a carnivore," Chris winked, "in multiple senses."

Quickly, the spring rolls arrived first. Stephen asked the waiter to remove the empty tableware and placed the food in front of Chris, smiling, "You're adorable. Eat more."

If humans could be classified into carnivores and herbivores, Chris was obviously a carnivore, while Joshua was definitely a herbivore. As for his own classification, Stephen hesitated for a moment and ultimately placed himself in the carnivore category. He refused to be a herbivore, since herbivores in the natural world were prey to carnivores. In human society, it is not far off from the same concept.

"You have pierced ears," Stephen had been staring at Chris while he buried his head in eating.

"Uh-huh."

"But you don't wear earrings."

Chris looked up, a bit bewildered. "Why?"

"It's nothing. After we finish the meal, I'll get you a pair of earrings."

"... Do you like men wearing earrings?"

"You don't want to wear them?"

"It's not that... Sometimes you're strange."

They visited several jewelry stores before finding a pair of earrings suitable for Chris. However, the process took a while, and Chris couldn't understand why Stephen was so determined to get diamond earrings. It was a bit annoying.

Fortunately, they finally found a pair, and Stephen personally helped him put them on. Chris looked at himself in the mirror and was quite satisfied, casting aside the previous unhappiness.

"Is there anything you want? You've fulfilled my request, and I'll fulfill one of yours." Stephen asked.

"I want... I just saw a blue balloon...," Chris was pulled back by Stephen, "No, you're really going to give it to me?"

"Which one?"

Returning to the Cartier store, Chris happily pointed to the one he had just set his eyes on, asking to try it on.

"How does it look? Is it nice?"

Stephen didn't answer but asked the salesperson to take out the men's wristwatch with a silver dial and black strap, which was the same model as the one Chris liked, and he put it on Chris's other wrist. "What do you think?"

"They both look good."

"I think this one looks better." Stephen pointed at the one he chose.

Chris looked left and right and, after being pointed at, felt that Stephen's choice was also great.

"Then, let's go with this one."

Stephen quickly paid with his card, and the watch was worn directly by Chris. It was not too expensive, costing thousands of dollars, but it certainly couldn't be considered cheap.

On their second meeting, Stephen spent quite a bit of money on him. Previously, it was always Chris who spent more money on dates. While he didn't give expensive gifts, he always took the initiative to pay for meals and outings. It felt quite pleasant to be treated this way for the first time.

He stepped closer and asked, "Can I take back what I said about not accepting your support?"

Stephen frowned and glanced at him. "Don't talk nonsense. I don't want to support you either."

Chris grinned, "Where should we go this afternoon?"

"Any suggestions?"

As they walked to the square, the sun had no warmth, but the sunlight was clear and bright. Chris pulled down the sunglasses on his forehead.

"The weather is nice today. Let's take a stroll."

The weather was nice, and the afternoon wasn't chilly either. The streets were particularly crowded with people out shopping. On this day, Chris didn't repeatedly ask to go to a hotel or book a room. They just walked like a newly dated couple, leisurely strolling and getting lost in the crowd.

Chris walked beside Stephen, and the man was just as tall as him, which made Stephen slightly uncomfortable. He had never dated such a "big" man before.

As they continued walking, Chris took the initiative to hold his hand. In response to his gesture, Stephen aptly reciprocated, their fingers intertwining for a moment, but Chris suddenly withdrew his hand.

"What's wrong?"

Chris glanced at his hand, hanging his gaze down. "Uncomfortable."

Stephen raised his left hand, revealing the wedding ring in front of them. "Do you want me to take it off?"

"Can you take it off?"

"I can try."

"What do you mean by 'try'?" Chris found it amusing, then changed his words, "Never mind, it's also a reminder to myself."

Stephen let go of his hand. "I'm not someone who seeks novelty. Once a stable relationship is established, I generally won't actively ask for separation."

"Except in what circumstances?"

"Unless forced to divorce." Stephen switched to Chris's other side, using the hand without the ring to hold his hand. "I don't think you're interested in that."

"I'm not particularly interested, but what if your other half finds out?"

"He won't."

Chris smiled, somewhat contemptuous. "Men are so presumptuous. In reality, when people spend a lot of time together, even the slightest change can be magnified in the eyes of the partner. I can even tell when my mom changes the shade of her foundation."

"Maybe you're just too sensitive."

Chris lowered his sunglasses and observed Stephen for a moment before suddenly saying, "I've discovered that you actually care about your husband more than you let on, don't you? What kind of person is he?"

Stephen frowned, visibly unhappy. "Say it again, put away your curiosity, don't indulge in these boring inquiries."

"...I was just asking casually," Chris shrugged, dropping the subject.

Stephen looked up and saw the logo of a movie theater. "Let's go watch a movie. "

Chris was a type of person he had never encountered before. Though at times he found himself speechless and unable to cope, the occasional glimpse of his innocence revealed a lovable side. Stephen was tolerant and good at discovering the strengths of his partner. It seemed that Chris had also grown accustomed to his rhythm, truly treating it as a time spent together rather than just a fling.

"Do you have any other plans for the weekend? We can go to a resort in the outskirts to relax," Stephen suddenly whispered during the movie.

Chris kept his eyes fixed on the screen, turning his head to whisper back, "It doesn't matter if I have other plans. I can cancel anything as long as it's something I'm interested in."

Stephen smiled but didn't respond.

Once the movie ended, the sky had darkened, and they found a restaurant for dinner. After dinner, just as Stephen was thinking about where to take Chris next, Chris approached him proactively and suggested, "Let me take you to a great place tonight."

"Hmm?"

"Do you know the QUEEN in the Queen's District?" 

"I know the Queen's District in New York, USA."

"It's not that one, it's the Queen's District in our city, near Yangjiang Avenue. They have famous drag performances there, and you didn't even know?"

Stephen casually replied, "I'm not interested in drag performances."

"I'm not interested in the kind you're thinking of either. The performers here are very professional and beautiful, not what you'd imagine."

"Ultimately, isn't it men dressing up as women?"

"But the performers here are really attractive and exciting, especially one called Tita..."

"I'm not interested, not because the performers are unattractive; I'm just not interested in cross-dressing itself and don't understand why men want to heavily dress up as women."

"... Your words have a hint of discrimination."

Stephen wanted to say that his personal dislike was different from discrimination, but he felt it was unnecessary to spoil the comfortable atmosphere between them.

"Well, let's go. You lead the way."

Inside the car, Chris became extremely excited. He introduced the bar while flipping open his phone to check tonight's performance schedule and lineup, suddenly exclaiming in surprise.

"You're so lucky. Tita will be on stage tonight."

Stephen had absolutely no interest, but he played along. "Who is Tita?"

"Tita is the most popular drag queen in QUEEN. I can't explain it properly, but he's especially sexy and mysterious."

"Mysterious?"

Chris suddenly lowered his voice, and with just the two of them in the car, he moved closer, talking about gossip.

"In the end, these performances have strong sexual implications, and the goal of going on stage is often for money. Other queens can be invited with money or gifts or, if there's a connection, even leaving a phone number is possible."

"But no one can entice Tita. There was a rich man who liked him so much, he went all out, buying him a Porsche 911, inviting him to dinner, but Tita didn't pay any attention and returned the gift intact. According to internal sources, he didn't even unwrap the car keys. The rich man almost brought people to wreck the place, but luckily, the boss of QUEEN has some background, so the situation was diffused."

"His performance schedule isn't fixed; sometimes he comes daily, other times he disappears for months. Even the person in charge of the venue doesn't have the exact times, saying the boss grants him special approval, and it's all last-minute arrangements. No one has his contact information or knows his real name. When he doesn't come, everyone just waits eagerly... Ah."

After this revelation, Stephen burst into laughter. "Are you also one of those eager ones?"

"Need you ask? I really like him. If I could just get his number..."

"What would you do with his number?"

"Obviously, I would want to pursue him."

Stephen's face darkened. "Is it appropriate for you to suddenly say this in front of me? If I'm not mistaken, we're on a date."

Chris felt embarrassed for a moment, then grinned. "Let's see, maybe you'll fall for him too once you meet."

"I've already said I don't like this kind of male-to-female performance."

"You'll know once you see it."

Stephen couldn't be bothered with this meaningless argument and simply said, "I just hope you can take our date seriously."

"Okay, got it... Damn, it's sold out. What the hell, the moment the performance list is updated, the tickets are gone in a second."

"... Are we still going?"

"We're going. I know some people, we'll find a way to get in. Now, drive faster. If we're late, there won't be any seats left."

At Chris's request, Stephen increased the speed, racing all the way.