How Do I Say I Like You? | BL

Chapter 10

Ma Tian waited outside a Hot Pot restaurant with his arm loosely wrapped around Xu Chen's shoulder, Wang Li rushed to Xu Chen and snaked his own arm onto his friend's shoulder, removing Ma Tian's in the process. Ma Tian laughed at Wang Li then made his way over to Kong Da giving him a wet kiss on the cheek. Kong Da pushed him away but didn't say anything towards this act. Wang Li's eyes went wide before he feigned ignorance and clung to Xu Chen.

Inside, Ma Tian gave his name and a waiter guided them to a private room. Everyone sat at the table with Kong Da sitting across from Wang Li. Usually Wang Li would grab at any opportunity to sit beside his crush but he wasn't fond of Ma Tian teasing his Xu Chen, thus sacrificed the special seat in the name of friendship.

Unknown to Wang Li, Ma Tian didn't care whether he was sitting beside or across from Xu Chen since he could tease him in any seat. The waiter handed Ma Tian the menu before leaving and closing the door. Ma Tian looked at the long menu with bored eyes while talking in a sweet voice.

"Xiao Chen, since this dinner is for you, what do you want?"

"I-I'm not fussy."

The waiter came back with tea and water for everyone before standing next to Ma Tian, ready for the order. Since Xu Chen didn't specify, Ma Tian ordered almost everything and three broths. He would've ordered more but Kong Da snatched the menu from him, returning it to the waiter. Wang Li had never seen Xu Chen's flushed face last so long and softly patted his friends heated cheeks.

The food came quickly and it didn't take long for the broths to start boiling. Xu Chen tried to boil meat for himself but Ma Tian beat him to it, blanching a few slices for him and placing it in his bowl. When he reached for a dumpling Ma Tian told him he had already begun boiling a few and to wait a couple more minutes. Xu Chen wasn't used to this sort of treatment and found it hard to be waited on.

Wang Li on the other hand, was almost a clone of Ma Tian. After a few mouthfuls, he would place a freshly blanched shrimp or vegetable into Kong Da's bowl. At first Kong Da would place the food back in Wang Li's bowl but after the third mushroom he stopped and ate quietly, basically ignoring everyone at the table

Both Wang Li and Xu Chen were shy in front of strangers, Kong Da himself wasn't much of a talker unless he was passionate about the topic and he didn't seem like he was in the mood for talking anyway, leaving Ma Tian to make up for all three of them.

"Xiao Chen are you in University?"

"I'm majoring in hospitality."

The lack of teasing meant Xu Chen was slowly warming up to Ma Tian and no longer stuttered when he talked, though his flushed cheeks hadn't gone away. Wang Li looked over at Kong Da as he thought about how he could find out Kong Da's feelings without saying it in front of everyone. The day was almost over and he hadn't even held a proper conversation with the man, he felt as if his progress was rewinding. The worried boy ate as if his mind wasn't racing and he slowly came up with an idea and slid his shoe off.

Kong Da seemed to be in deep thought again, the small crease forming between his brows again. Wang Li slowly lifted his sock covered foot and pushed it forward until he felt Kong Da's shoe, the dazed man mustn't have felt this since his eyes were still unfocused. Wang Li slouched down a little and pushed his foot until it was sitting on top of the large foot, leaving it there. Kong Da had now felt what Wang Li was doing and looked over at him expressionless. Ma Tian was still feeding and talking to Xu Chen happily. Kong Da didn't push Wang Li's foot off and instead placed a slice of meat in his bowl.

"Eat properly."

Wang Li smiled widely and roughly slid his other shoe off, not bothering with being slow or sneaky and placed it on Kong Da's other shoe before he continued eating, every now and then he would wriggle his toes in excitement. With his achievement, the meal passed by and everyone was surprised by the amount they were able to eat. Only a few stray vegetables and noodles were left once the bill had been paid. The small group had already one foot out the door while Wang Li quickly wiped his hands then pushed his shoes back on, rushing to catch up.