KMYB | Chapter 68

Young bodies are resilient. The next day, Zhou Zeqi didn’t have a fever, only an occasional cough.

At Xishui’s insistence, when they went out again, they shared the same umbrella.

The snow in Nieluo had buried the whole city. It was so white it looked like someone had poured a bucket of white paint over everything, and wherever it touched, the whiteness was absolute.

Xishui sat on the rug in front of the fireplace, holding a steaming cup of latte American coffee, and stared at the itinerary on his phone. "I thought with snow this heavy, the flight would get canceled."

Zhou Zeqi was leaving tomorrow morning, and the flight had no issues at all.

Zhou Zeqi cut up a plate of fruit and set it on the small table in front of Xishui, then sat down cross-legged beside him. He looked at Xishui for a moment, reached out to tug his slipping collar back up a little, and said, "I braised beef and duck feet, and I also made a big plate of red-braised pork. Now that the weather’s cold, it’ll be fine for a few days."

"Oh…" Xishui sounded listless. Even hearing that Zhou Zeqi had made him good food, he still couldn’t muster any energy.

"Want to play games with me?"

"No."

Whether Xishui was happy or unhappy, it showed on his face, in his eyes.

Zhou Zeqi pulled him into his arms and held him for a while.

–

At five the next morning, the sky was still pitch-black, the streetlights hadn’t even gone out yet, and the snow had already stopped.

Zhou Zeqi got out of bed as quietly as he could. Xishui hadn’t fallen asleep until after midnight, muttering in a daze the whole time, and now he was sleeping deeply. Today, it wasn’t just Zhou Zeqi who had to travel, Xishui also had to go back to the dance troupe to start studying and rehearsing.

Mornings and evenings were the coldest. After washing up, Zhou Zeqi put on the down jacket he’d bought here and walked to the bed. He bent down and touched Xishui’s face. In his dark eyes, it was as if a few snowflakes had fallen in and melted into a sheen of moisture.

He left without making a sound.

Although the snow on the roads had been cleared by workers during the day, it had snowed again in the middle of the night. A thin layer covered the ground, crunching under the soles of his shoes. With every step, he could hear the snow giving way beneath him.

The light from the streetlamps on both sides washed the row of apartments ahead into something like a classical oil painting, elegant and quiet, the backdrop a biting winter, a lone shadow walking straight down the sidewalk.

A door in one of the apartment buildings suddenly opened, and cold wind rushed inside.

A boy with messy hair and a down jacket thrown over his pajamas ran out of the courtyard in a hurry.

Zhou Zeqi turned back to look at him.

Xishui’s tears had frozen in his eyes the moment he saw Zhou Zeqi walking alone through the dark winter night.

He threw himself into Zhou Zeqi’s arms. The collision was so hard that Zhou Zeqi stumbled back a few steps. One hand was gripping the handle of his suitcase, the other wrapped around Xishui’s waist, and he nearly failed to catch him.

"Why did you secretly turn off my alarm?" Xishui’s voice was thick with a heavy nasal sound. "If I hadn’t suddenly woken up, I wouldn’t even have known you slipped away without telling me."

The temperature was low that morning, and the breath they exhaled was as white as the snow around them, though it disappeared almost at once.

"It’s too cold." Zhou Zeqi slowly let him go and pushed at him a little. "Go back to sleep."

Xishui stood stubbornly in place and refused to move. "I’m seeing you off."

The cold air had already painted his face snow-white.

Zhou Zeqi couldn’t out-stubborn him. He looked at Xishui for a while, then gave in. "Zip your jacket."

Xishui immediately zipped it up. Zhou Zeqi took his hand and walked forward.

The airport was fairly quiet at this hour, but there was no shortage of people who also had to get up early and travel. Xishui accompanied Zhou Zeqi to pick up his ticket, watching the sky outside change from black to a hazy blue-glass color before finally brightening completely.

Before security, Zhou Zeqi pulled Xishui into kiss after kiss. He was even more reluctant to part than Xishui was. Xishui did like kissing Zhou Zeqi quite a lot, but in broad daylight, in front of everyone, he wiped at the nonexistent saliva on his face. "Bye-bye~"

Zhou Zeqi left.

He only looked back at Xishui once, not daring to look any longer. Xishui stood in the bustling airport hall with red-rimmed eyes, his figure looking especially thin.

Just hold on for a few more months, and it’ll be fine.

–

Xishui had never felt time move this this this this slowly before!!!!!

Before, there had still been the hope of meeting during National Day, and every day had been full of energy and expectation. But now… Zhou Zeqi would be very busy during the New Year, and Nieluo didn’t have a New Year of its own. They celebrated other seasonal festivals instead, and the opera house had actually become even busier.

Xishui bought a calendar and set it on the bedside table. The very first thing he did every morning after waking up was flip to a new page.

But thankfully, Xishui would not let anything affect his professionalism. He kept his personal life and his stage studies very separate, and Zhou Zeqi did the same.

It was just that… the good food Zhou Zeqi made for him only lasted half a month. The food abroad tasted terrible, there was a lot of instant food, cooking for himself tasted terrible too, and as for hiring an auntie, Xi He didn’t really recommend it.

In short, Xishui felt like he was living a miserable life.

On New Year’s night, Xi He had just finished a performance. It was another group dance this time, only longer than before. His last performance had been very well received by the audience, and someone had even called the troupe leader specifically to tell him to cultivate the boy properly.

The troupe leader did want to, but this seedling was still a student, and he was going to leave.

Xishui sent the performance video to Zhou Zeqi. This time, he had taken the initiative to find the troupe leader and asked to get the footage, saying he wanted to show it to his boyfriend.

Snow was falling heavily outside. Xishui was curled up on the sofa, video-calling Zhou Zeqi.

Zhou Zeqi wiped his face while walking toward his room. "A cousin of mine is having a birthday. They grabbed a cake and started throwing it at people’s faces. Luckily, I ran fast."

He closed the door to his room, and the screaming and roughhousing downstairs immediately disappeared from his ears. Zhou Zeqi looked at Xishui on the screen. "Have you lost weight?"

This time, it was true.

Xishui touched his face. "A little. I miss you. The food here isn’t good either, and training is really hard…"

At first, he hadn’t thought any of this was a big deal, but when he listed them one by one to Zhou Zeqi, Xishui suddenly felt wronged for no reason. Rarely, he became aware that he seemed to have had a rough time.

He choked once, and couldn’t say anything else.

Tears in his eyes, he pulled the blanket over his head and listened to the crackling pops as the firewood in the fireplace burned. Xishui felt his nose clog up a little. He sniffed hard, wiped his eyes with the blanket, and looked back at the screen.

"…Why are you crying too?" Xishui’s voice was a little hoarse. He looked at Zhou Zeqi curiously. Zhou Zeqi had tears in his eyes, a bright wet glimmer under the camera.

"I don’t know." Zhou Zeqi’s tone was cold after being deliberately suppressed.

Otherwise, he’d sound like he was crying too.

Xishui held up his phone, still tucked inside the blanket, where he couldn’t get any air. His face was flushed red from being covered up. He said softly to Zhou Zeqi, "The internet says that when you truly love someone, emotions can be transmitted."

"So if I cry, you cry too."

Xishui kissed the phone screen, then slowly pulled it a little farther away. "Zeqi, I really want to see you sooner!"

"Me too." Zhou Zeqi answered immediately, without the slightest pause.

The moment he finished speaking, fireworks were set off in the courtyard outside. They rose not very high, little things children played with, and the window flashed bright as day for an instant before quickly falling back into darkness.

"Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year."

They spoke at the same time.

Xishui was so happy about that little miracle of shared understanding that he rolled from the sofa onto the rug, his hair and clothes both a complete mess. Xi He, who came downstairs carrying a coffee, saw this scene and paused. "Hopeless."

Lying on the rug, Xishui blew a loud kiss through the air at Zhou Zeqi.

"Good night!"

Good night.

–

One week before they returned to China, Senior Sister Lanlan passed the selection to stay here as a trainee actress. She was already one year above Xishui, and this summer she would graduate. By the time this summer vacation passed, Xishui would be a senior in college.

Xi He watched Xishui busily packing gifts for his friends. "Can you carry all that?"

"Zhou Zeqi is coming to pick me up."

"Is he your laborer? Are you making him work like a mule?" Xi He happened to be drinking American coffee again whenever he had nothing to do, for reducing swelling and promoting urination, a fine thing.

"Mom should come pick me up too, but maybe not," Xishui said, stuffing the pretty strawberry socks he’d bought into his suitcase. "If she knows Zhou Zeqi is coming to get me, she probably won’t come."

"Are you going back to school or home?"

Xishui said, "Of course I’m going home first. Grandma misses me."

The troupe leader came to invite him to stay the day before he left. He could skip straight ahead to become a duet dancer.

But Xishui still refused.

"Because of your boyfriend? Love is something even the devil would keep his distance from."

Xishui shook his head. "I just want to stay on the land that raised me, that’s all."

"Even Jesus would marvel at your devotion."

Xishui said quietly, "You’re just being impatient."

The troupe leader’s expression froze. He looked at Xi He, who was staying at home. "You’re brothers. Can you beat him up?"

Xi He said, "Hitting children is a crime."

He bought the earliest flight back to China, which required a transfer. Altogether, the trip took sixteen hours.

When he left, Nieluo was cloudless, and the sky was clear as a polished piece of glass. Xi He and Lanlan saw Xishui off at the airport. Xishui sincerely wished them well. "Third Brother, Senior Sister, I hope you both keep getting better and better at dancing, and rising step by step."

Lanlan’s eyes were a little red. "On the way, don’t eat anything strangers give you. Don’t drink any drinks either. Don’t borrow money from strangers.最好 don’t even talk to them. Send us a message when you get back to the capital."

After a simple goodbye, Xishui set off on the journey home.

At first, Xishui was radiant, full of life, brimming with energy, but after one flight transfer, he was completely wilted. On the plane back to the capital, he slept so deeply he was out of it until the flight attendant woke him at landing.

Xishui turned off airplane mode and walked out while looking at the countless messages that had popped up on his phone. Zhou Zeqi hadn’t sent that many, but he was very consistent about it, sending one every hour. When Xishui landed, he sent three or four messages.

[Xishui: I’m going to get my suitcase, wait for me at the exit!]

He missed Zhou Zeqi so much. He knew Zhou Zeqi definitely missed him just as much.

Xishui practically dragged his suitcase so fast it seemed to fly.

Several flights had landed around the same time, and there were quite a few people at the exit waiting to pick others up, holding signs or waving flags. Xishui couldn’t see the person he was looking for at all.

As he walked out of the exit, someone caught his wrist. He jumped in surprise and turned back, only to find Zhou Zeqi. That surprise instantly turned into delight.

By now, the weather in the capital had already turned hot. Zhou Zeqi was wearing a short-sleeved shirt. He had lost some weight compared to last year, which made his features look even sharper and his figure more upright. He stood out in the crowd. The reason Xishui hadn’t seen him was because he was standing in a corner, probably already waiting there for a long time.

He caught Xishui and buried his face in Xishui’s neck. "Xishui, welcome back to China."

Xishui was held so tightly by Zhou Zeqi that it hurt a little. He breathed in the familiar grapefruit scent on the other man’s clothes, his nose turning sour. "I miss you so much. You miss me too."

"Mm, I miss you a lot."

Zhou Zeqi had one arm around Xishui. Xishui set his suitcase down by his feet, wrapped both arms around Zhou Zeqi, and his arms accidentally brushed against something. He lowered his head and tilted his neck to look, catching sight of a bouquet of white roses.

Seeing that he’d noticed, Zhou Zeqi stuffed them into his arms. "Hold them."

Xishui hugged the flowers while Zhou Zeqi took the suitcase. It was absurdly heavy, and the wheels seemed to have stopped working.

"What did you bring?"

"Gifts for all of you?"

"All of you?"

"Dad and Mom, Grandma, you, your mom and dad, Lin Xiaojin." Xishui buried his face in the flowers and took a deep breath. "So fragrant."

Joy filled his brows and eyes. "Zhou Zeqi, from now on we’ll never be apart again. We’re going to live happily together."

Zhou Zeqi nodded and held Xishui’s hand. "Have a good relationship, get married…"

Xishui picked it up again. "And then die together."

That sounded jarring. Zhou Zeqi’s brows drew together. "Shut up."

"Aww~"