KMYB | Chapter 61

On the plane, Xi Shui put his phone into his bag. After asking the flight attendant for a blanket and some water, he curled up weakly in his seat.

When the plane took off, Xi Shui kept his eyes closed. Only after it had climbed to a certain altitude and was flying above the capital did he open them again, press against the window, and look down at this enormous steel forest poured from concrete.

The city stadium’s architecture was very distinctive. It was made of two huge oval spheres, with low-alloy high-strength steel as the main building material. In Xi Shui’s eyes, they looked like two delicate little balls, flashing brilliantly under the sun.

Qi Qi was definitely going to take first place.

That thought crossed Xi Shui’s mind. He lowered his eyes, rubbed them, and leaned back into his seat.

Midway through the trip, he had to transfer at an airport in another city and wait two hours. Xi Shui bought a sandwich and sat in the airport lounge, eating while calling Zhou Zeqi.

It was already three in the afternoon, and Zhou Zeqi still hadn’t finished his match.

"I’m waiting for my flight, I miss you so much," Xi Shui said softly.

Zhou Zeqi was wearing a tracksuit and sitting on a bench beside the field. Listening to Xi Shui speak, it felt as if someone had slammed a heavy punch straight into his chest.

"I’ll come find you during National Day," Zhou Zeqi said in a low voice.

Xi Shui looked at the stream of people coming and going through the airport. "You have to come find me."

Wu Fengyi, Meng Kewen, and Zhang Kan were crouched not far away, secretly peeking at Zhou Zeqi. Meng Kewen clicked his tongue. "Is Old Zhou okay?"

Zhang Kan said, "Huh?"

"Xi Shui went abroad today."

Zhang Kan said, "Did he get dumped?"

Meng Kewen said, "He’s going to study for a year. He’ll be back around this time next year."

Zhang Kan said, "No wonder. A year is pretty long. And Old Zhou is going to join his family company next week, right? I’m jealous of Old Zhou. Hey, I told him last week to get me into their company as a security guard…"

Wu Fengyi and Meng Kewen exchanged a look. "Can you stay on topic?"

"No, seriously, their company’s security guards make six thousand a month, with social insurance and housing fund, plus weekends off," Zhang Kan said anxiously. "Anyway, my family has a house. I can just find any job and coast until I die."

"And Old Zhou actually has a lot of pressure, okay? He has to hold up such a huge company. With Xi Shui’s looks and all that, I feel like even if he goes abroad, he’ll only get more suitors, not fewer. If it were me, I’d be stressed to death. Don’t you think so, Wu Fengyi?"

"Why are you cueing me? Don’t cue me, don’t cue me."

Meng Kewen said, "Yesterday I went with you and Lin Xiaojin to the food court for rice bowls, and you were blushing the whole time without saying a word. You can’t tell me you were shy looking at me, right?"

"Are you sick in the head?" Wu Fengyi stood up, pulled his swim goggles down, and said, "Get lost."

Zhang Kan didn’t understand what the two of them were talking about. He scratched his head and felt that Old Zhou sitting there alone looked painfully pitiful.

–

The plane landed at New Luo Airport. It was ten hours behind China, so it was noon here, though it wasn’t hot.

Xi Shui collected his suitcase and, the moment he stepped outside, saw Xi He, along with a blond, blue-eyed man who was half a head taller than him.

The other man was wearing sunglasses and a trench coat. If not for his extraordinary bearing, their positions would have made him look like Xi He’s bodyguard.

After exchanging greetings in English, Xi Shui learned that the other person was the Giovanni Xi He had mentioned before. He lowered his voice and asked Xi He in Chinese, "Third Brother, are you dating him?"

Before Xi He could make a sound, Giovanni, who was walking beside him, answered first. His Chinese was a little awkward, and not a single syllable came out quite right, but the meaning was still roughly understandable.

"I’m pursuing Ah He."

Giovanni drove the car. Xi He sat in the front passenger seat, and Xi Shui sat in the back. Since Giovanni could understand Chinese, there were some things Xi Shui couldn’t ask Third Brother right now.

He looked out through the car window. Rows of beautiful buildings stretched on and on. The style was bolder and more innovative than Beijing’s, but at heart it was still a big city. Yet the faces on both sides of the street were not the familiar Asian ones, and Xi Shui couldn’t feel the slightest sense of closeness.

The New Luo Ballet Company was one of the world’s six major ballet companies. It couldn’t claim the top spot, but it had a long history and a host of ballet works celebrated around the world. The New Luo Ballet Academy, which belonged to the company, was praised as a cradle for world-class ballet dancers. Ninety percent of the New Luo Ballet Company’s dancers came from their own academy, of course, not directly. They still had to pass layer upon layer of assessment and selection.

Xi Shui lowered his head and looked at WeChat. Before leaving, Zhou Zeqi had called to get all the phone services set up for him, so he could use it the moment he landed.

Zhou Zeqi had sent him a lot of messages. Xi Shui scrolled to the top and read them one by one.

17:44 – [Beijing University won.]

85:31 – [Went to eat with Wu Fengyi and the others / photo / photo / photo]

21:57 – [By the time you get there, it’ll be three or four in the morning on my side.]

02:10 – [Remember to call me.]

Xi Shui didn’t call. He sent a reply instead.

[I just landed, it’s not convenient to call. I’ll phone you after I get home and put my things away, okay? Qiqi, go to bed early. Don’t wait for me.]

He thought Zhou Zeqi had already fallen asleep, but before the screen even had time to change away, he saw the other side showing that the person was typing.

Xi Shui blinked, and his nose started to sting.

He sniffed at the back.

Xi He heard it and glanced at Xi Shui through the rearview mirror. Giovanni raised an eyebrow. "Your little brother is homesick."

Xi He kept looking ahead and said nothing.

Giovanni said, "I’m just a bootlicker."

Xi Shui didn’t hear what Giovanni was muttering in front. His pronunciation was different from what it had been at the airport just now.

[Zhou Zeqi: Okay, I’ll wait for you.]

[Xi Shui: No, no need. Go to sleep. I’ll call you then.]

[Zhou Zeqi: The match is over, I don’t need to train anymore. I’m not reporting to my dad’s company until next Monday. I’ll wait for you.]

[Xi Shui: Go to sleep. I really will call you.]

[Zhou Zeqi: Then swear it.]

[Xi Shui: Cat speechless jpg.]

[Xi Shui: Fine, I swear. Go to sleep.]

Zhou Zeqi didn’t reply after that. He really was exhausted to the limit.

He had only slept for one hour yesterday. Today he had stayed by the field the entire time, and at night he went to dinner with the coach and the team members.

The car drove for more than two hours. Xi He had rented an apartment in the central district next to the New Luo Opera House. The transportation was convenient, the commercial development was quite good, and there were subway stations, museums, and several academies nearby. Of course, the rent was also expensive.

Xi He didn’t let Giovanni come along.

After entering the residential area from the bustling downtown by swiping a card, the noise gradually faded away. Greenery surrounded everything, and the apartments looked like the little villas from fairy tales, built from red and white bricks, with different kinds of plants growing in each courtyard.

The sunlight was as bright as in China, but the temperature wasn’t as high.

"Feeling homesick?" Xi He asked.

Xi Shui shook his head, then turned back to ask Xi He, "Third Brother, why are you together with Giovanni? Isn’t he really annoying?"

"It’s hard to explain in a few words," Xi He said. "Are you okay? You look a little pale. You’ve probably been on the plane too long. Don’t bother with anything else today, just rest properly. The day after tomorrow I’ll take you to report to the opera house."

"Right, when is your senior sister’s flight?"

"Seven tonight."

"Then okay," Xi He thought for a moment. "I’ll send you the address. Tell her to come straight over. Since I rented a lot of rooms in the apartment, she’s still a student, so there’s no need to waste money. It’s not easy to come out and study."

"Then I’ll pay you rent too."

Xi He looked at Xi Shui’s innocent expression. "How much living allowance did Aunt give you?"

Mentioning this, Xi Shui got a little excited. He said softly, "One hundred thousand a month!"

The Xi family had its own clothing brand, and Li Wanzhi had also invested in a lot of businesses. She didn’t need to manage them, and just the annual dividends alone were enough to match a small company’s entire yearly revenue. Not to mention, their family didn’t only have this one source of income.

Xi He said, "Then I don’t want your rent either. Even if you don’t come, I’m still living here. But if you want to eat anything, you’ll have to buy the ingredients and cook it yourself. I don’t know how to cook."

Xi Shui immediately said, "I do."

"You do?" Xi He was surprised. He remembered that Xi Shui couldn’t cook.

"Zhou Zeqi taught me. Egg fried rice, tomato and eggs, shredded potatoes. That’s it."

"…"

"You went abroad and he didn’t stop you, and even taught you how to make egg fried rice?"

Xi Shui shook his head. "No. He hoped I could dance well and do the things I like."

After hearing the answer, Xi He’s expression became a little complicated, because he had met Zhou Zeqi before. Compared with the considerate man Xi Shui described, Zhou Zeqi himself didn’t seem easy to talk to. He had a certain untamed, bandit-like air about him. But his kindness toward Xi Shui was indeed beyond reproach.

Xi He deliberately teased Xi Shui. "Then if someone here turns out to be more outstanding than Zhou Zeqi and starts pursuing you, what would you do?"

Xi Shui thought for a while and answered, "Impossible."

Xi He smiled. "Little Xi is that sure?"

"No," Xi Shui said seriously. "I mean, there won’t be anyone in the world more outstanding than Zhou Zeqi."

Xi He: "…"

–

"Alright, we’re here. Remember the house number, don’t go to the wrong place." Xi He swiped the card and pushed open the white iron gate. "I’ll give you two sets of keys later, one for you and one for your senior sister."

Besides the lawn, the courtyard also had a ring of blue and white flowers along the edge, clustered tightly together and blooming with lively energy.

The apartment had three floors in total, with one large and one small terrace. The interior decoration came with the landlord, but Xi Shui could still tell that a considerable part of it had been bought by Xi He out of his own pocket. Xi He had particularly refined taste, and you could tell at a glance.

For example, that black vase with the crooked neck beside the television. It was crooked beyond saving. Twist it one more time and it would turn into a twisty dough stick.

There were exactly three bedrooms, but they were all different sizes. The smallest one was about the same size as Xi Shui’s room back in China. Considering that a girl might have more things, he took the initiative to choose the smallest one. Anyway, he wasn’t going to dance in the room.

"There are two bathrooms. You and I will use one, and let your senior sister use the other by herself. She’s a girl, so hurry up and take a shower and rest."

"What about you?"

"I’m going to the opera house for rehearsal. Next month, I still have to go to F Country for a performance."

Xi Shui watched Xi He leave. He stood at the door for a while, and just as he was about to close it, an old white-haired woman carrying a little dog appeared in the neighboring yard. She saw Xi Shui and made an extremely exaggerated expression of surprise.

The other party asked Xi Shui what he was to He.

"His younger brother," Xi Shui answered in English.

"Your accent sounds like someone from New Luo’s Manlei District."

Manlei District was one of the three fastest-developing and best districts in New Luo. The native accent there differed from the other districts, so people from there often carried an inexplicable sense of superiority.

Xi Shui’s former teacher had come from Manlei District.

After chatting with the old lady for a while, Xi Shui finally shut the door and went back inside. Once he returned to his room, he didn’t even bother to unpack his suitcase. He casually found a set of clothes, thoroughly washed himself clean, then lay down on the bed Xi He had already made up for him.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, Xi Shui suddenly startled awake. He unplugged his charging phone and quickly dialed Zhou Zeqi’s number.

The phone rang many times before it was answered. Zhou Zeqi’s voice was hoarse and lazy. "Everything’s sorted?"

Xi Shui clutched the blanket. "Did you just fall asleep?"

"Slept for a bit."

After Zhou Zeqi answered, Xi Shui didn’t know what he should say. He listened to Zhou Zeqi’s breathing. A long time later, he curled in on himself, pulled the blanket over his head, and said muffledly, "I miss you so much."

There was a rustle on Zhou Zeqi’s end too. "I miss you too," he said.

Light from outside shone into Xi Shui’s new bedroom. The white gauzy curtains hung down onto the solid wood floor. Xi He doted on Xi Shui very much. The bookshelf, desk, and wardrobe were all custom-made according to Xi Shui’s preferences. By the corner of the wall stood a tall, transparent vase, with a sprig of green lady’s slipper vine inside.

"Are you very sleepy right now?" Xi Shui asked Zhou Zeqi. He thought he must be.

"It’s okay. I don’t feel sleepy when I’m talking to you," Zhou Zeqi said in a very low voice. Some of his syllables were so hoarse they were almost impossible to hear, like rough sandpaper rubbing against the outer ear, numb and tingling, with a little sting, though it could basically be ignored.

Xi Shui touched his numb ear. "Then when are you going to sleep? It’s almost dawn on your side."

"What are you doing right now?" Zhou Zeqi suddenly asked.

"I’m lying down. Third Brother told me to sleep."

"If you’re not that sleepy, go look in your suitcase and see if there’s a black paper box."

"There isn’t." Xi Shui was lying still on the bed. Didn’t he know his own suitcase, the one he packed himself? He hadn’t put any black paper box in it.

"There is. I put it there."

Xi Shui threw back the blanket, got out of bed, and ran to the half-open suitcase. He squatted down and searched through it once. It was very easy to find the black paper box Zhou Zeqi mentioned. It was only about the size of a palm.

His phone was on the bed. Xi Shui called out from afar, "What is it?" There was no explanation on the box. He tore it open and took out a pale green oval-shaped object with a rubbery feel. There was a layer of tiny rough granules on the outside.

It wasn’t too soft when he pinched it, and it didn’t make any squeaky squelching sounds either.

Xi Shui went back to bed, picked up his phone, and asked Zhou Zeqi curiously, "What is this?"

Zhou Zeqi slowly and carefully explained its functions to Xi Shui. Xi Shui went from looking normal to red as blood in an instant, even his ears turned pink. He shrank into the bed and said in a tiny voice, "Then do I need to buy another charger?"

"Try it first and see if it still has any battery left," Zhou Zeqi said.

Xi Shui pulled back the blanket, took a breath of fresh air, turned on speaker mode, and set the phone by his pillow. Holding the little ball in both hands, he examined it carefully. "How do I try it?"

Xi Shui felt a few protrusions in the back. He pressed one of them at random, and the thing in his hand suddenly started vibrating.

Xi Shui jumped in fright.

He hurriedly pressed the ball under his belly. The ball buzzed beneath his stomach, and the vibration made Xi Shui’s ears turn so red it looked like blood was about to drip out. Xi Shui grabbed his phone, his expression panicked as he told Zhou Zeqi, "It’s vibrating!"