Help! I Became A Guy In A BL Novel!-Chapter 340: ’Casual’ Lunch
Riven could not continue teasing Xavier as the carriage slowed and stopped at the gates of the estate. He clicked his tongue. So soon? He had been enjoying Xavier’s scar-stiff glare far too much to let it end here.
"Open the door," Xavier said, voice sharp and commanding, like a man used to being obeyed.
Riven tilted his head, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Oh? Ordering me now?"
Xavier didn’t even blink. "No. It was merely... A suggestion."
Riven was already opening his mouth to retort when—
Clack!
Bob sprang forward like a desperate man spotting the exit sign in a burning building and shoved the door open himself.
"I’ll do it!" Bob announced too loudly, stumbling down the steps. He straightened his shirt as if he’d just done everyone a grand favour. Really, he just needed air. The carriage had felt like the longest ride he had ever been on, and he took on night shifts when he was a truck driver that lasted more than ten hours!
Riven pouted and dragged himself out after, stretching his arms lazily like a cat denied its nap. Leon was right behind Bob, moving with the stiff caution of a man who wanted nothing to do with whatever weird energy the other three were brewing inside that cramped space.
Bob, unfortunately, had no such luxury. He was stuck walking directly behind Riven, who swayed his shoulders with that cocky stride of his. Bob had never been more aware of the heavy security stationed around the mansion grounds, men with sharp eyes and sharper weapons. But who was more dangerous? Riven.
Riven was a hazard. Not a physical one, no. An emotional hazard. And Bob knew the look he’d just been given before they stepped out—the kind of look that said, I know your secrets, and I’m dying to poke at them until you combust.
Bob hunched his shoulders. He had walked through war zones with less anxiety.
Meanwhile, John was the picture of forced composure. He smoothed down his outfit three separate times in as many steps. This is fine. Everything’s fine. I’m on vacation and now I’m having lunch with THE Soren. Just... Casual lunch.
But the "lunch" came with the added stress of dining with the Master of the Snow Leopard Clan—a title that carried weight, power, and danger. He still couldn’t quite wrap his head around the absurdity of it.
Because that Master? That supposedly untouchable figure? Was with this... This goofy guy was currently stretching his arms, humming like a fool, and grinning at a guard like they were old drinking buddies.
John’s mouth twitched. He couldn’t decide whether he should be horrified or amused.
And then, of course, there was the kicker. The part that made his stomach twist and his sanity beg for mercy.
This man—this ridiculous, unserious, smug man—was his lover.
He still couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t process how, out of all the people in the world, he had ended up with Riven.
John pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering under his breath. "I really need to calm down."
Riven turned back just in time to catch that. He winked.
John almost tripped on the mansion’s steps. Sure, he did not get Riven’s charm, for he was only focused on Bob. He did not have to get it, he simply needed to be respectful and not offend the boss man.
A calm lunch...
The long dining table had been laid out with care—porcelain dishes, polished cutlery, crystal glasses that caught the winter light just so. The kind of setup that screamed important guests only. VIP treatment was nice.
And yet... Riven had plopped himself right next to seat reserved for the head, it was his seat! Who else would be sitting next to Soren if not him? "Soren, you have to try this bread," he said, already tearing into a crusty loaf and slathering it with butter. "It’s so fluffy. Did you bribe the baker?" This had to have been the best bread he ever had.
Things just taste better when rich people are involved, right? Riven could feel his poorness on display, he used to be a simple office worker and now look at him, how the turn tables-
Soren, seated at the head of the table, lifted his glass without a flicker of expression. His smile was as cold as the polished silverware, his coldness was reserved for the uninvited guests... Though they were invited by Riven. He replied coolly. "Bribe? Hahaha." Ah, the things that came out of his little wolf’s mouth it was absurd and entertaining.
"But I approve of the methods you use, though I do not know it," Riven noted Soren’s laughter, it reeked of richness. He was not a rich man, but his boyfriends were.
Leon was seated right across Riven and to Soren’s left. He looked like a man calculating exactly how many more minutes of this he could endure before losing his patience. He could not stand the lovey-dovey atmosphere between them.
Every time Leon reached for a dish, Soren’s cold smile sharpened. Every time Soren passed something across, Leon accepted it with all the grace of someone enduring a duel at gunpoint. Neither said a word, but the clash of wills was loud enough to be heard in the silence between Riven’s chatter. It was obvious to everyone except Riven.
Well, maybe Riven noticed it but he did not care because he was focused on the food.
"Hey, Bob," Riven said, holding up a piece of meat dripping with sauce. "This sauce? It’s making me question my life choices. Like... What if I’ve wasted years not eating this every day?"
Bob gasped dramatically. "That’s exactly what I was thinking!" They were very much alike, they could never have experienced such things back in their world! Bob was delighted, he had the cuisine from the wolf clan, but he was not familiar with the food from the Snow Leopard clan!
Two foodies from another world finally met!
