"Sit down," Zander urged Basil to sit and poured him half a glass of whiskey. "Drink up. Tonight, we don't go home until we're drunk."
Basil raised an eyebrow, noticing that Zander's hand didn't shake at all while pouring the whiskey. They had just had red wine, and now whiskey. Was he planning to get him drunk by mixing drinks and force something out of him?
"Basil," Darnell approached from behind, preparing to sneak up on him, but Basil noticed, so he quickly withdrew his hand and scratched his neck with a laugh. "As expected from someone who has been practicing freestyle fighting since middle school. I admit defeat." He had initially intended to catch Basil from behind and force him to confess, but his skills were no match.
"Go ahead, what's so important that you need to go to such lengths? Just get to the point."
"Since you put it that way, I'll ask directly," Darnell snorted, "Do you plan to be with Lettie?"
At this, Basil was speechless. Now he wanted to finish the drink and get himself drunk. "I don't know," he said helplessly. He didn't even have an answer to that question himself.
"Then let me ask you differently," Basil paused, "What do you think of Cierra?" He didn't dare miss Basil's expression for a moment after asking.
"Why are you asking me this? How do you think I should answer?" Basil subconsciously raised his eyes, thinking of the woman in his arms earlier. His cold expression softened slightly. Even if he could fool himself, he couldn't fool the sharp-eyed and observant Darnell.
"I think Cierra is a great woman. She graduated from a top university, has a first-class appearance and figure. The key point is that she's very pure and kind-hearted. If my orientation were towards women, I would definitely like her," Cierra spoke without reservation, not caring about Zander's thoughts. "No, even if I like men, I still admire her."
Basil couldn't deny it at all.
Her academic qualifications were a given, and her appearance and figure were subjective. But aside from these external advantages, he felt her true strength lay in making people feel comfortable and natural around her. It was a feeling etched into the heart, where emotions were unconsciously guided by her, happy when she was happy, smiling when she smiled.
"Don't you agree?"
"Of course, I admire her. Otherwise, I wouldn't have signed her as an artist," but that was all.
"Is that your true feeling?" Darnell asked indifferently.
Basil nodded. "That's right." He looked very determined, but no one knew how conflicted he was inside.
"Stop fooling yourself," Darnell moved the glass closer to Basil. "Drink, drink, when you're drunk, you'll hear your true inner voice. You should have a real conversation with your true feelings, not sit here trying to deceive me and yourself."
Basil downed the whiskey in one gulp. The hot alcohol burned his throat, leaving a bitter taste, swallowing his annoying thoughts along with it. On the balcony, three men, a pot of muddy wine, under the starry sky and a half-hidden moon, this was how men solved problems.
An hour later, Zander, who was responsible for getting Basil drunk, was already half-drunk. Still, Darnell remained sober and asked Basil the same question again.
"Do you really plan to be with Lettie?" Darnell pressed the recording function on his phone.
"But this time I was the one who provoked her first. Even though I feel she's no longer the senior I once liked, I still feel sorry for her," Basil's expression didn't change much, but it was clear his speech was starting to get muddled.
"Basil, get up, don't lie on the table!" Darnell shook Basil, who was lying on the table. He felt that if he didn't wake him up, he would fall asleep, but he still hadn't asked his most important question yet.
"Sorry, it's not love, you jerk. What do you think of Cierra? Is there any possibility between you two?"
"Cierra?" Basil looked confused at first, but quickly answered himself, "Cierra is a love manager. She's here to help me with my love life."
"Love manager? Help you with what love life?"
"Employers and employees can't date," Basil suddenly pulled out a forlorn smile, "She is the kind of beauty everyone desires, but she doesn't belong to me."
Darnell still didn't understand what Basil meant, but that didn't stop him from enlightening this stubborn guy. "Are you dumb? There's no such thing as unattainable beauty in this world, but there is something called forging ahead with determination. If you think Cierra is so great, then go all out to pursue her. She is your salvation. Lettie hasn't been the senior you loved for a long time. Even in high school, I thought your taste was questionable. But your life and youth are yours to waste. However, I think this time it's really enough. It's been over ten years, and you should have set a stop-loss point by now. Even if you get Lettie this time, what if she dumps you for someone richer and more handsome next time? Do you want to live alone until you're old and gray?"
Zander encouragingly patted Darnell on the shoulder, thinking his close lover was so cool! He spoke so well, it was damn perfect. If he ever stopped being a makeup artist, he could start running a love consulting company. His words were piercingly direct, particularly defeating that alternative counseling.
