KMYB | Chapter 51

Zhou Zeqi pulled Xi Shui into his arms and kissed him hard for a long while.

"Let me see if you’ve broken the skin. You’ve been saying it hurts." Zhou Zeqi pressed Xi Shui down onto his lap and reached for the hem of his shirt.

Xi Shui hadn’t fought back at first, just let Zhou Zeqi kiss him however he wanted. But the moment Zhou Zeqi lifted his shirt, he immediately struggled free and ran into the living room.

"I’m hungry."

Zhou Zeqi got up and went to the kitchen, where he saw Xi Shui staring longingly at the braised beef shank in the pot. He dragged him to the back, washed his hands, then tipped the chopped daikon on the cutting board into the pot. "What else do you want to eat?"

Xi Shui lowered his eyes and thought about it. "I didn’t even say I wanted beef shank."

"…"

Zhou Zeqi wrapped an arm around Xi Shui’s neck. "Come on, let’s open the package."

"What package?" Xi Shui was a little dazed.

It wasn’t until he stood in front of the entryway that he understood.

The outer shipping layer had already been torn off, leaving behind a black box with a rich, textured finish.

A white cat’s head was engraved on the top of the box, lifelike down to the smallest detail.

"I open it?" Xi Shui asked to confirm first.

"Go ahead. I bought it for you anyway." Zhou Zeqi turned on the ceiling light by the entryway. The warm glow fell down like a layer of soft gauze.

He glanced behind him, then dragged over a chair and simply sat down.

Xi Shui swallowed, used a bit of force, and finally lifted the lid. It was heavy. "So heavy," he muttered, setting the lid aside and peeling away the translucent sheet of film on top.

Every item had its own plastic wrapping, and even the way they were arranged was molded to fit their shapes exactly. They were packed in snugly, and secured on top with a black satin ribbon.

Xi Shui started from the edge and picked one thing up. The moment he held it, the bell rang twice.

Xi Shui turned back and looked at Zhou Zeqi in surprise.

Zhou Zeqi was just about to speak when he saw Xi Shui tear open the wrapping in a couple of moves and put it straight around his neck, his face full of eagerness. "Help me fasten it."

"…"

He set the box on the floor and sat cross-legged on the ground in front of Zhou Zeqi. Lowering his head, he obediently let Zhou Zeqi fasten it for him while he himself lowered his head to fiddle with the other things in the box.

A fluffy pair of white cat ears, a transparent little glass box containing two pinkish-white pearls, each with two metallic clips. "Ear clips?" Xi Shui asked innocently.

Zhou Zeqi opened his mouth, only to realize he couldn’t make a sound. The hand resting on his knee clenched into a fist. "Look at the instructions."

"You’re so weird. You bought this, so why do you still need the instructions?" Xi Shui set the glass box down. His fingers touched something… a shirt? His ears turned red. As if it were hot, he hurriedly pushed it back in, then lifted out a half-meter-long fluffy thing from the edge of the box. "A tail?"

He tugged at both ends and lowered his head to study it. "How do you put it on?"

The bell around his neck gave off a clear ring from time to time. Along with Xi Shui’s muttering, his pale, slender fingers held up that fluffy white tail. He looked exactly like a cat bursting with curiosity.

Zhou Zeqi picked up the lid from the floor. He shoved everything back into the box in a messy grab, and at the same time helped Xi Shui take off the bell. He covered it all inside the box. "No rush now."

Xi Shui was still sitting on the floor. He watched the flustered way Zhou Zeqi was tidying up with complete concentration.

"You’re blushing again. You still can’t get used to it?" Xi Shui asked.

After fussing for quite a while, Zhou Zeqi had finally put away everything Xi Shui had taken out. He turned back, his eyes dark and unreadable, a half-smile on his lips. "If you want me to fuck you to death, feel free to keep going."

Xi Shui blinked, turned his face toward the floor-to-ceiling window, and fell silent.

This round, Xi Shui lost.

–

The next day was Saturday. It was still raining outside, and it was almost nine, yet the sky remained oppressively dark.

Zhou Zeqi woke up, and the person in his arms stirred as well.

No morning practice?

Zhou Zeqi lowered his eyes and reached out to touch Xi Shui’s face. It was burning hot. He moved his hand from Xi Shui’s cheek to his forehead, and the heat was scorching.

"Xi Shui, you have a fever."

Xi Shui lazily opened his eyes. His vision was a little blurry, and he slowly closed them again. Zhou Zeqi’s voice was equally indistinct by his ear. He didn’t want to listen.

"Baby, let’s go to the hospital." Zhou Zeqi grabbed a set of clothes at random from the wardrobe and pulled them on, then went to find clothes Xi Shui could wear. The temperature when it rained was lower than usual, so Zhou Zeqi found Xi Shui a khaki jacket, planning to throw it right over his sleepwear.

Xi Shui was wrapped in the blanket. "I’m not going."

Zhou Zeqi stood by the bed with the jacket in his hand. "Why not?"

"I’ll sweat it out and be fine." Xi Shui’s voice was hoarse. Clearly, his throat had gone rough from getting caught in the rain too.

After a long while without an answer, Xi Shui lifted the blanket, revealing a pale face. "Qiqi, go find me a thermometer. If the temperature isn’t too high, there’s no need to go to the hospital, and I don’t need medicine either. I’ll just drink more hot water."

That was the first time Zhou Zeqi had ever heard someone tell himself to drink more hot water.

"It boosts immunity," Xi Shui said in a muffled voice. "Go on."

Zhou Zeqi put down the jacket, went to find the thermometer, and also poured a big cup of warm water. But Xi Shui had fallen asleep again.

Zhou Zeqi didn’t wake him. He bent down and tucked the thermometer under Xi Shui’s armpit, holding Xi Shui’s arm down in that awkward position. He lowered his gaze and watched the sleeping Xi Shui, motionless, for seven or eight minutes.

When the time was up, Zhou Zeqi took out the thermometer and went to the living room to look at it.

38.7°C.

He didn’t want to wake Xi Shui again. The rain kept falling outside, and Zhou Zeqi was in a state of restless irritation.

He sat in the living room and searched Baidu.

-Can a fever really not need medicine?

The answer was yes. As long as it wasn’t too high, drinking more hot water and wiping the body with warm water could work. Occasional fevers could even improve immunity, but if a high fever dragged on without going down, medication would be needed.

Zhou Zeqi felt a little more at ease.

He searched again.

-What happens if you keep having a fever?

The answer said it might cause viral meningitis, and could even turn someone mentally disabled.

Zhou Zeqi’s breathing caught.

Suddenly, he felt that the answer to the first question was no longer very credible either.

He flipped through his WeChat contacts. There wasn’t anyone in medicine, but there was someone in the family group, Zhou Zezhi’s girlfriend, whom Zhou Zezhi had added to the chat just a couple of days ago.

Zhou Zeqi usually never showed up in group chats. Even when red envelopes were being sent, he couldn’t be bothered to grab them.

It was rare for him to appear, and he was even @-mentioning his sister’s girlfriend.

[Z: Hello, may I ask if a fever of over 38 degrees is serious?]

Zhou Zezhi’s girlfriend hadn’t replied yet, but a bunch of unrelated people jumped in first.

[Zhou Yu: You have a fever?]

[Handsome Uncle: You’re as sturdy as an ox, just tough it out.]

[Auntie: I heard your boyfriend dances ballet. I happened to watch a ballet stage production overseas some time ago, and it gave me some inspiration. I’ll design a few outfits later, bring him over to try them on.]

[Second Uncle: When’s your break? Let’s go play a couple rounds at the court.]

Only after that did Zhou Zezhi’s girlfriend finally appear.

[Who has a fever? If it’s a kid with a fever, you need to send him to the hospital right away.]

Zhou Zeqi couldn’t add the other person as a friend, as if they had specifically set their privacy that way. He could only talk in the group chat.

[My boyfriend.]

So a whole bunch of home remedies started pouring in. Zhou Zeqi couldn’t be bothered to respond to any of them, and only waited for a professional answer.

[It’s fine. Young people should observe first, take a hot shower, and drink more water. Fever can easily dehydrate you. If the temperature still hasn’t come down by tonight, go to the hospital and get checked.]

Zhou Zeqi replied with a thank-you.

The others were still chattering nonstop.

[Should we come take a look?]

[So worried.]

[Chi Xiu: Zhou Zeqi, check your messages. I transferred 20,000 yuan to you. Go buy Xiaoxi some fruit.]

Zhou Zeqi didn’t bother looking at the messages anymore. He tossed his phone aside, got up, and went to the bathroom to fill a basin with hot water. He carried it to the bedside, then pulled Xi Shui out from under the blanket and stripped off his clothes.

Xi Shui slowly woke up, staring blankly at Zhou Zeqi. "What are you doing?"

"You’ve sweated," Zhou Zeqi said. His palm found a patch of hot sweat across Xi Shui’s back. "I’m wiping you down."

"Oh." Xi Shui moved himself to the edge of the bed, weak and limp. "I wasn’t even this soft when you were fucking me. I feel like a noodle right now."

Zhou Zeqi told him to raise his arm, and he raised it. Told him to turn over, and he turned over. Obedient to the point of deadly.

Lying on his stomach, he let Zhou Zeqi wipe his back, shoulders, neck, the lean and narrow lower back. Xi Shui had been dancing for so many years that he had no excess flesh at all, and the lines of his muscles were nearly perfect, like a work of art.

Zhou Zeqi’s breathing deepened. He continued downward, the towel reaching a curved place.

The rain outside suddenly grew louder, but Zhou Zeqi couldn’t tell whether what was pounding in his ears was the rain or his own heartbeat.

–

Xi Shui drank a whole pot of hot water. Every few hours, Zhou Zeqi would check whether he was sweating. If he sweated too much, he needed to be wiped down again.

There was millet porridge simmering in the pot, and Zhou Zeqi was reading in the living room.

It was almost one o’clock.

Someone suddenly knocked on the door from outside.

Zhou Zeqi got up and went to open it.

It was Xi Shui’s father, along with a very elegant and dignified woman, who should have been Xi Shui’s mother.

Seeing the tall and handsome boy in front of her, Li Wanzhi asked softly, "Hello, I’m the mother of the boy living next door to you. I called him, but no one answered. I knocked on the door too, but no one opened it. Does your school still have class on Saturdays?"

Zhou Zeqi rarely got nervous, but this time he did, though it wasn’t very obvious. He paused. "No."

"Ah, then where on earth did this child run off to," Li Wanzhi said, pointing at the pile of things by her feet. "His father and I bought him some food and a few daily necessities. Could you help us give these to him?"

Zhou Zeqi was standing right where he blocked Xi Shui’s backpack by the entryway, as well as the canvas shoes on the floor.

Zhou Zeqi looked at Xi Shui’s parents, lowered his eyes, and stepped aside. "He’s with me."

Li Wanzhi showed a puzzled expression, while Xi Buyao’s face darkened at once.

After inviting the two of them to sit on the sofa, Zhou Zeqi poured each of them a glass of water. Just as he set it on the table, Xi Buyao asked stiffly, "Can my wife and I go into your bedroom?"

Zhou Zeqi nodded.

Xi Buyao didn’t even look at Zhou Zeqi. He pulled Li Wanzhi along to see Xi Shui.

Xi Shui was curled up under the blanket, sleeping soundly.

Li Wanzhi sat on the edge of the bed and asked Zhou Zeqi softly, "How high is his temperature?"

"It was 38.7 this morning. Half an hour ago, it was 37.5."

Li Wanzhi looked relieved and said gratefully, "Thank you for taking care of him."

It seemed she hadn’t imagined them as being in a romantic relationship.

That made sense. They were classmates and neighbors. They probably got along well in everyday life, so taking care of each other when sick wasn’t strange.

Xi Buyao stood by the bed and looked at Xi Shui for a while. Then his gaze slowly moved to Zhou Zeqi. He was tall and broad, standing there like a mountain, even half a head taller than him. With that build, he looked like a natural fighter.

Probably because there were more people in the room, and because people were talking, Xi Shui woke up. Seeing Li Wanzhi and Xi Buyao, he thought he was dreaming, until Li Wanzhi pinched his cheek with a cool finger. Xi Shui jolted awake all at once.

"Why are you here?" His reaction was much bigger than Zhou Zeqi’s. He sat straight up in bed, clutching the blanket, looking from Xi Buyao to Zhou Zeqi, his heart practically jumping out of his throat.

What do we do, what do we do, what do we do?

Xi Buyao said in a deep voice, "What’s this about sleeping in someone else’s house? Get up. We’re going home now."

Xi Shui tightened his grip on the blanket. "Okay."

"Then get up."

Xi Shui didn’t move.

He wasn’t wearing anything underneath, and there were still bite marks on his legs from Zhou Zeqi.

Xi Shui’s face was already red from the fever, and now it was even redder. Zhou Zeqi couldn’t stand watching it.

"We’re in a relationship."

Two different voices rang out at the same time. Zhou Zeqi and Xi Shui said in unison what their relationship was.

Xi Shui looked toward Zhou Zeqi, who was standing the farthest away from him. He stood there tall and straight, his expression firm. Xi Shui curved his lips at Zhou Zeqi.

Xi Buyao thought he had heard wrong. He looked at Xi Shui, then at that tall, broad-shouldered man, and suddenly remembered the last time, that boy riding a bicycle so hard the wheels seemed to lift off the ground.

Devouring food, aggressive driving.

Just as he was about to speak, Xi Shui lifted his head. After a cold, his throat was so hoarse it sounded almost pitiful.

"I was already planning to bring Zhou Zeqi to meet you both before I went abroad. Dad, don’t be mad, because being mad won’t change anything. I like him, and I’m not going to break up with him. Mom, you like him, don’t you? You just smiled."