'Please don't turn him gay' 'they could just be friends and not be forced into that mold for sake of story'
I... Don't think that is what is happening here. Huan wen has been established as a well liked, well known guy. I am sure he has had friendships with straight people, as well as crushes on some of them too. Just, he has had few close people because he has always suppressed a part of himself. Even from Yang yang, who is supposedly his best friend in this entire series. For introspective people like him, it is not uncommon.
This is about his story of finding love. He might find one, no? Why does it have to be with an established homosexual dude?
Do remember that Yuan is a college grad. So, what, 24 to 27 years old? He is still at an age where he can explore aspects, reaches and limits of his sexuality. I am 27, and am still discovering something about myself. It is not a far stretch for him to fall in love with a man, even with a history of dating women. Bisexuals exist, pansexuals exist. Asexual Biromantics exist (closest I can get to Demisexuals without cringing tbh).
Normally, the whole 'everyone's gay' trope annoys me too. But in this instance, I think that if (yes, I am not discounting that this story might just be of friendship, unlikely as it seems) they do get together, it would have been in a fairly organic way.
On other note, damn it DJunnie, why such cliffhangers!!!
PS: Another thing to add in my argument : We have seen this story in span of months. But for these characters, it has been YEARS. It isn't about 'oh he is suddenly gay'. It has taken him more than half a decade to START realizing that Huan Wen probably means more to him. Look at it in sense of time for characters, and not how much time you spent reading them (a few minutes intermittently every week for about an year makes things whacked out of perspective).