KMYB | Chapter 33

Wu Fengyi sat by the pool, and several members of the school swimming team were lying on the bank nearby. Zhang Kan tugged at his waistband and looked toward the direction where Zhou Zeqi and Xi Shui were, saying, “Why do I feel like Lao Zhou is kind of love-brained?”

“People are like that when they first start dating.”

“Really? I kind of want to experience that.”

“…Just train.”

Zhang Kan waved a hand. “Hey, I haven’t even shared my standards for choosing a partner yet.”

The swimming hall closed at eight p.m. from Monday to Friday, and on weekends it stayed open until eleven.

Zhou Zeqi also couldn’t do too much to Xi Shui in a place with cameras everywhere. He pulled him up. “Come with me to the changing room.”

Xi Shui followed behind Zhou Zeqi like an uncomprehending little rabbit.

Wu Fengyi swam one lap and then lay back down at the edge of the pool, watching the direction the two of them had gone. He shook his head. “Tsk, tsk.”

The swimming hall had changing rooms reserved for the school swim team. They weren’t especially large, with little cubicles like a bathhouse, but the place had been used for years, so some cubicles were missing door latches, and some doors would slowly swing back open after being shut.

The changing rooms were separated for men and women, though Jing University didn’t have a women’s swimming team. Still, the women’s changing room had never been removed, because the coach believed that one day, Jing University would have a women’s team.

The popsicle in Xi Shui’s hand had already melted. He stood outside the cubicle and said to Zhou Zeqi, who had already stepped in with one leg, “I’ll wait outside.”

Zhou Zeqi turned back.

Xi Shui was dragged into the cubicle.

It wasn’t big, even smaller than a bathhouse stall. There were a few hooks on the wall. Xi Shui looked up and noticed that the brick wall even had Zhou Zeqi’s name pasted on it. He could tell this was Zhou Zeqi’s private changing stall.

Xi Shui looked away from that flamboyant name, glanced around, and chose a little stool in the corner to sit down on.

At that height, his nose almost bumped into Zhou Zeqi’s… that thing.

After Xi Shui had been dragged in, he still calmly examined everything and then sat down just as calmly.

“Hurry up,” Xi Shui said. “The class monitor sent me the waltz music. We can practice together when we get home.”

Zhou Zeqi had already been about to put on his shirt, but seeing how serious Xi Shui was, his hands itched again.

He crouched down so he could barely keep eye level with Xi Shui. “Weren’t you just outside saying you wanted to kiss me?”

“I did… say that.” Xi Shui would never lie about this kind of thing. He dared to say it, dared to do it, and dared to own up to it. He admitted it openly and met Zhou Zeqi’s amused gaze without flinching.

At the same time, he also had to spare some thought for the popsicle, worrying it was probably about to melt into water. When the wrapper was peeled open, he’d just pour it straight into his mouth, pour it into Qi-Qi’s mouth.

“And then?” Zhou Zeqi asked. “After saying it, you just don’t care?”

Xi Shui answered in a small voice, “I really wanted to kiss you when I was outside just now. I thought you were so tempting, but now I don’t want to kiss you so much anymore. My popsicle is almost melted.”

Don’t want to kiss him? Because the popsicle was about to melt?

Zhou Zeqi tried his best to convince himself to accept the connection between those two things.

Two seconds later, he failed.

Xi Shui had no warning at all before Zhou Zeqi lunged over and kissed him, but Zhou Zeqi was prepared. Whether it was pinning down Xi Shui’s lips and teeth with perfect precision or restraining his wrists at the same time, he moved only after calculating everything, like a wolf circling its prey.

The two of them were pressed very close together, and Zhou Zeqi’s body temperature was especially high. Xi Shui’s palm first landed on Zhou Zeqi’s chest muscles, then snapped back as if shocked. His slender pale fingers hovered helplessly in the air.

Zhou Zeqi slowly let Xi Shui go, grabbed his wrist, and tugged hard. Xi Shui’s palm landed right back where it had been.

“If you like touching, then touch enough.” Zhou Zeqi’s voice was low and hoarse.

Xi Shui swallowed, glanced at Zhou Zeqi, then hurriedly looked away. “I like it more, because I don’t have any.”

It wasn’t that Xi Shui lacked exercise, he explained. “I don’t have such good muscle genes.”

“…”

–

Wu Fengyi and the others still had no intention of going back to the dorms just yet. Without Zhou Zeqi supervising them from outside, the whole group was splashing around in the water.

“The changing room? That’s way too刺激, isn’t it!”

“Are there cameras in the changing room?”

Zhang Kan thought about it and answered, “There haven’t been any for a long time. A few freshmen tore them down last year, and they still haven’t put them back up. I’m guessing they won’t reinstall any.”

“It’s not like they can install them. Cameras in a changing room, that’d be so unethical.”

“Wasn’t it because they were worried someone would steal things? Changing rooms are the easiest places to lose stuff.”

“Why haven’t Lao Zhou and the others come out yet?”

“Wings, stop looking. They probably already left through the back door.”

“!” He’d miscalculated.

Zhou Zeqi rode his bicycle and took Xi Shui home.

Just as Xi Shui had predicted, the popsicle had really melted into water. The packaging wasn’t sealed tightly, and liquid had dripped all the way from the school to the neighborhood below their building.

Zhou Zeqi found it disgusting, snatched it away, and threw it into the trash with a loud clunk.

“…”

“You go upstairs first. I’m going to the supermarket over there to buy some greens,” Zhou Zeqi said. After that, he pushed the bicycle into the shed and walked toward the supermarket.

Just being outside for a little while had already left Xi Shui drenched in sweat again. He hated heat so much.

When he came out of the elevator, Xi Shui was taking out his keys while walking toward the door to his home. As he appeared, a boy leaning against the wall by his family’s door slowly straightened up.

“Xiao Xi.”

Xi Shui looked up in surprise. “Third Brother!”

Xi He was the son of Xi Shui’s second uncle, an only child, and was with a dance company overseas. He had just gotten in last year. Although he was still only in the ensemble, their troupe leader had a very high opinion of him.

Besides Xi He, Xi Shui also had older female cousins and older male cousins. The only ones younger than him were one younger brother and one younger sister.

In their family, whether on Li Wanzhi’s side or Xi Buyao’s side, almost everyone worked in ballet.

Like Xi Shui’s grandmother, who had been the principal of the country’s biggest ballet company in her youth, later became its director, and then retired. Xi Shui’s maternal grandmother, meanwhile, was a designer who specialized in ballet performance costumes. She made a name for herself in middle age, designed extremely dreamlike stage costumes for many major ballet productions, and even now, at an advanced age, remained a top veteran in the industry.

Xi He was only two years older than Xi Shui. This year should have been his senior year, right before graduation, but last year he had obtained an offer from an overseas ballet company, and in order not to delay things there, Xi He had directly dropped out of school.

Seeing his older cousin come home, Xi Shui happily ran over to him. “Why are you back? When did you get here? Why didn’t you message me? My mom didn’t even tell me…”

Xi Shui chattered away at Xi He.

Xi He lowered his eyes, a suitcase standing beside him. His refined face showed clear fatigue. “There haven’t been many performances in the company lately, so I came back to take a look. I passed by your school, so I came straight over. I was afraid you’d be in class, so I didn’t call you.”

Xi Shui opened the door in high spirits. He hadn’t even had time to put his bag down before he was rummaging through the shoe cabinet for a pair of new slippers.

When he bent down, Xi He noticed the faint finger marks on the back of Xi Shui’s neck, as if they’d been pinched from behind. It didn’t look like much force had been used, but Xi Shui’s skin was the kind that left marks easily.

“Does Second Uncle know you’re back? So are you going home tonight, or staying with me?” Xi Shui poured Xi He some water and helped him lean his suitcase against the wall. He was busy spinning in circles, and Xi He couldn’t help laughing. “Sit down for a bit.”

This was the first smile Xi He had shown since Xi Shui had just seen him.

Though he was smiling, it somehow looked like he was crying.

“Third Brother, what’s wrong?” Xi Shui敏感地 sensed something was off. “Is there really no performance at the dance company?”

Xi He held the glass of water, and the panicked look in his eyes was hidden behind the rim. He clearly didn’t want to answer Xi Shui’s question. He only took a small sip before saying, “Xiao Xi, can I stay here for a few days?”

Xi Shui hurriedly nodded. “Of course.”

“If my parents ask you about me, can you help me keep it from them for a few days?” Xi He asked again.

In Xi Shui’s memory, Xi He had always been the proudest one in the family, smart, gifted, sensible, and knowing how to measure his words and actions. Xi Buyao often told him to learn from Xi He, not to be as slick as Xi He, but at the very least not to be so reckless.

This was the first time Xi Shui had seen Xi He like this. He slowly studied him and realized he had lost so much weight. He looked thin and haggard. Why? Didn’t Second Uncle say Xi He was doing very well working overseas? But Xi He didn’t seem happy at all now.

Xi He thought Xi Shui was unwilling, so he took the initiative to explain, “I originally wanted to go to a hotel and get a room, but my phone and wallet were picked out of my pocket at the airport…”

“Okay!” Xi Shui agreed at once. He moved to Xi He’s side and crouched down, warm fragments of light in his eyes. “Third Brother, if you’re unhappy staying overseas, then come back. You can keep studying, or take the domestic company entrance exams, or open a studio. You’re so amazing…”

Xi He touched the top of Xi Shui’s head. His little cousin was still as simple as ever, unchanged at all. His parents had protected and educated him too well, so well that it made one reluctant to let him know what human nature really looked like.

“Thank you, Xiao Xi,” Xi He said softly.

Xi Shui stayed crouched there and pressed his lips together. “Then stay here with me for these next few days. I have class during the day, and at night I can go stay at my neighbor’s place.”

Xi He froze, revealing a puzzled expression. “Why would you go stay at your neighbor’s place?”

“His bed is big.” Xi Shui blurted it out.

“…”

The sadness on Xi He’s face slowly faded, replaced by a strong sense of vigilance. “You and your neighbor are very close?”

That was a reflex for the Xi family. At any time, it was always like that.

For everything related to Xi Shui, they all wanted to personally sift through it, over and over again, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight times.

Even the younger brother and sister were studying hard for Xi Shui. But that had been instilled in them since childhood by Grandma and Grandma: Xiao Xi is too innocent, you two must study hard and dance hard, and protect your brother in the future, okay?

The Xi family and Li Wanzhi’s natal family, together, had two thousand little schemes. If Xi Shui was added in, one had to be taken away, leaving only 1,999 little schemes.

“We’re… neighbors,” Xi Shui said, and when he spoke about his relationship with Zhou Zeqi, he somehow started stammering, his voice growing quieter too. “He and I go to the same school. We usually go to school together. He cooks sometimes, and he’ll call me to eat with him.”

“And sleep together too?” Xi He continued very naturally, with not the slightest awkwardness.

That coaxed Xi Shui into nodding along before he came back to his senses and immediately shook his head in denial. “N-no, we don’t… s-sleep together.”

“Then how do you know his bed is big?” Xi He slowly narrowed his eyes. If he couldn’t tell that Xi Shui and that neighbor had been up to something, he’d be living two more years than Xi Shui for nothing.

“I saw it when I went over for dinner.”

“You ate on someone else’s bed?”

“…I took a look around his bedroom.”

Aside from onstage, Xi Shui had never reacted this quickly. His heart was practically in his throat, and the sound of his heartbeat mixed with the sound of his own voice, leaving even Xi Shui unsure of exactly what he had said.

The living room gradually fell silent. Xi Shui carefully lifted his eyes to look at Xi He. Xi He had originally worn a stern face, but seeing how uneasy Xi Shui was, he suddenly laughed and directly asked, “Why are you so afraid I’ll know you’re dating?”

！！！！

He knew?

He guessed it already?

Xi Shui abruptly stood up, unable to say a single complete sentence. Looking into Xi He’s eyes, he weakly dropped his shoulders. “Don’t tell Dad. If he finds out, he’ll definitely be very angry.”

Xi He said, “I won’t tell him.”

Xi He said, “It’s only dating. Maybe once the novelty wears off, the two of you will break up anyway. Telling Third Uncle would be unnecessary.”

“It’s not novelty…” Xi Shui objected in a small voice. “I like him, he likes me, and we’re going to be together forever.”

It was also a well-known fact that little cousin Xi Shui was stubborn and unyielding.

When he was little, he could twist himself into circles just to get what he wanted, even dance until he fractured a bone and ended up hospitalized. Xi Shui was covered in injuries, yet he was as stubborn as a little bull, dead set in his ways, able to practice the same move hundreds or even thousands of times without eating or drinking.

Xi He always felt that with Xiao Xi’s personality, that might be a good thing in professional fields, but in other matters, it might end up hurting himself.

“Do you know him well?” Xi He asked.

Xi Shui looked a little dejected. He sat cross-legged on the floor, pulled a notebook out of the cabinet under the coffee table, flipped to the page with Zhou Zeqi’s personal information, and handed it over with both hands. “I do.”

Xi He looked at the contents on the page. “…” With this kind of setup, it would be hard not to get deceived.

“These could all be fake,” Xi He said, taking the notebook, closing it, and putting it back in the coffee table cabinet.

“What if the other person is lying to you?”

Xi Shui frowned, his gaze firm. “He really does have eight-pack abs.”

“Is that what I was talking about?” Xi He was so exasperated he laughed, and the gloom that had been pressed down in his chest lessened a little. He even wanted to go see what exactly Xi Shui’s neighbor was like. What great luck.

Xi Shui lowered his head, his fingers sliding across the floor. A few tufts of hair at the top of his head stuck up messily in different directions. “I like him, so I should trust him. He likes me, so he can’t lie to me. Third Brother, don’t worry.”

“Then will you let me meet him?” Xi He asked slowly.

“Of course, but I need to ask for his opinion. I’ll ask him later and then tell you.” Seeing that Xi He was no longer opposing him, Xi Shui instantly beamed.

He stood up with the bag he’d forgotten to put down. “Then, Third Brother, you should rest. I’m going to find him.”

Watching Xi Shui put down his bag and run out the door, Xi He slowly withdrew his gaze. He lay back on the sofa, raised an arm to cover his eyes, and no longer thought about the things overseas.

–

Zhou Zeqi was waiting for Xi Shui outside the hallway, his face cold. “There’s someone in your room, and you still didn’t answer my calls?”

“My cousin came,” Xi Shui said, tugging at Zhou Zeqi. He opened the door far more skillfully than Zhou Zeqi and pushed Zhou Zeqi inside. “He wants to meet you.”

Zhou Zeqi paused, then lowered his eyes. “Didn’t you say your family won’t let you date in college?”

Xi Shui scratched his hair, making it even messier. “Third Brother is different from my dad and the others. He’ll help us keep it a secret.”

“Mm.”

“What does ‘mm’ mean?”

“It means I agreed.”

“Oh…”

Xi Shui fell silent, and only then did Zhou Zeqi notice that Xi Shui clearly had something on his mind. He set down the greens in his hand, bent over, and tilted his head to study Xi Shui. “What’s wrong?” His voice softened.

“Ha…” Xi Shui sighed.

Zhou Zeqi: “…”

“Will you stay with me forever?” Xi Shui asked, tilting his face up. His delicate brows were furrowed in a way that looked especially beautiful.

Zhou Zeqi straightened up and reached out to smooth Xi Shui’s brow. “What did your brother tell you?”

“Nothing.” Xi Shui grabbed Zhou Zeqi’s wrist and pressed it down. “You have to keep liking me forever. If you don’t like me anymore, I… I…” Xi Shui’s eyes reddened a little, and he stammered, unable to say the rest.

Zhou Zeqi liked Xi Shui like this. So he did have a heart after all. So he wasn’t some little white-eyed wolf.

He leaned in and kissed Xi Shui’s cheek, coaxing him. “You what?”

Xi Shui looked toward the floor-to-ceiling window and said in a small voice, “I’ll be very sad.”