KMYB | Chapter 35

Zhou Zeqi held the soda in his hand and casually crushed the can flat. He looked at the dazed Xi Shui. "Do you know what you're saying?"

Xi Shui copied him and leaned against the balcony too. There was a bit of distance between them. "I know."

"You have a lot of muscle, so it's very hard," Xi Shui said.

Zhou Zeqi: "…"

Was he the one reading it wrong?

"That part is pretty hard too," Xi Shui added.

"…"

"Which part?"

Xi Shui looked down toward the area below him.

Zhou Zeqi stared at Xi Shui for a moment, then raised his hand and pressed the can against Xi Shui's cheek. The soda had only just been taken out of the fridge, and the aluminum shell was ice-cold. Xi Shui jerked at the chill, glaring at Zhou Zeqi like an irked cat with its fur standing on end.

"Your face is too red," Zhou Zeqi said, taking his hand back, his tone unhurried.

Xi Shui knew his face was hot. It was so hot that even his pores felt flared open, like he had been set over a steamer and scorched by the boiling vapor underneath. The skin on the outside was still pretty, but everything inside had softened to the verge of melting.

So when the can's cold shell startled him like that, his reaction was especially big.

"I know, but I feel like I can't control it," Xi Shui said softly.

So annoying.

He really couldn't control it.

Zhou Zeqi hooked a finger at him. Xi Shui couldn't guess what he wanted to do, but he still held out his hand.

Zhou Zeqi took Xi Shui's wrist and pressed his palm against his own face.

Xi Shui slightly curled his fingers and found that Zhou Zeqi's face was hot too.

"Felt it?"

"If you say it so directly, I'll be shy too," Zhou Zeqi said just as directly.

Xi Shui was hooked by Zhou Zeqi's gaze like a fishing line and couldn't look away. Curious, he asked, "But you can't tell."

Borrowing the light from Zhou Zeqi's side, Xi Shui looked very carefully. Zhou Zeqi really wasn't blushing, but his ears were red.

"Then do you like hearing me say things like this to you?" Xi Shui asked Zhou Zeqi earnestly.

Zhou Zeqi said nothing and simply looked at Xi Shui.

Xi Shui kept speaking his honest thoughts to Zhou Zeqi.

"If you like hearing it, if you love hearing it, I'll say more of these things to you in the future."

Including being shy.

Zhou Zeqi still didn't say anything. Faced with such sincere Xi Shui, he couldn't find words.

It felt like his heart had been filled with syrup. That sweet taste was pumped by his heartbeat to every part of his body, his organs, his limbs, even his capillaries, until everything turned sweet.

After chatting with Zhou Zeqi for a while, Xi Shui felt much better. He tiptoed back to the bedroom and lay down gently on the bed again.

"Less than six hours apart," Xi He said suddenly in a calm voice.

Xi Shui was so startled he nearly bounced off the bed.

He blinked in the dark. "You guessed it."

"…"

"We just ran into each other by chance," Xi Shui explained.

Xi He gave a quiet "Mm," sounding exhausted. "Sleep."

–

Because he had slept late, Xi Shui almost couldn't get up the next morning. After he drank a full glass of water and finished his morning practice, there was a heavy knock at the door.

Xi Shui hurried over to open it.

He was startled by the huge crowd standing outside.

A dense mass of them, all people Xi Shui knew.

"Uncle, Second Uncle, Dad, Big Sister…" Xi Shui was afraid he might miss someone, so he called out to each of them very carefully.

There were too many people, and Xi Shui's cups weren't enough. He found disposable paper cups in the kitchen and poured water for everyone one by one.

"Just got up?" The first to speak was Xi Yuan, the eldest daughter of his first uncle and also the oldest among this generation. She was currently one of the principals in the Shanghai Ballet Company.

Xi Yuan was wearing a white square-neck short-sleeve top. Her light-colored flared pants reached all the way to her high heels, making her legs look especially long.

"I have class at ten. I just finished morning practice," Xi Shui answered obediently.

Aside from Xi Buyao, the person Xi Shui feared most was Xi Yuan. She looked warm and gentle, but when Xi Shui first started, he learned from her. Xi Yuan was stricter than a proper teacher. Every time her whip landed on his leg, it landed hard, without the slightest mercy.

Xi Yuan held a paper cup, noticed the suitcase by the wall, and said, "Xiao He is at your place? Xiao Xi, be good and go call your brother out."

"Third Brother is sleeping. He looks really tired," Xi Shui said, not moving. He could tell everyone had come to question them, so he tried softly to buy Xi He a little more time.

"What does Xiao Xi know?" This time it was his second uncle speaking, Xi He's father. He frowned, glasses perched on his nose, and kept glancing toward the bedroom.

Xi Shui didn't know.

Xi He hadn't said anything.

So he shook his head. "I don't know."

Xi Buyao glanced at the kitchen. "What are you cooking in the kitchen?"

"Eggs. Do you want some?"

"…"

Xi Yuan smiled. "Xiao Xi, go eat breakfast first."

The moment Xi Shui went into the kitchen, Xi He came out of the bedroom after him.

His face was still very bad, but much better than yesterday.

But Second Uncle hadn't seen Xi He's condition yesterday. Just seeing him today was enough to break his heart. He shot to his feet and strode over. "How did you end up like this?"

Xi Buyao also frowned.

Second Aunt wrung her hands together and looked at Xi He anxiously.

Xi He opened his mouth, then stopped himself. "It's nothing."

Xi Yuan said, "Still not talking? You think we don't know? Why are you being so childish?"

Xi Yuan took an envelope from the leather bag on her lap and threw it onto the coffee table. Several photos flew out.

"How old are you now? When something like this happens, you know to tell your family, don't you?"

Xi Shui crouched behind the kitchen door. He could faintly hear what Xi Yuan was saying, and her expression was fierce too.

He could probably guess what Xi He had run into abroad. Even dance companies in China had all kinds of ugly things, not to mention on foreign soil.

Xi He's temperament had always been on the better side since childhood, even better than his. He got along with everyone and knew how to adapt. Xi Shui couldn't understand why they would bully Third Brother.

Xi He stood in front of the coffee table, head lowered and silent.

Second Aunt leaned over and took his hand. "Honestly, if Xi Yuan's teacher hadn't happened to run into you abroad and told Xi Yuan, your dad and I still wouldn't have known you'd been bullied. We called you, and your phone was off. We went abroad to find you, but your landlord said you'd ended the lease. Your company director actually said they didn't know where you'd gone!"

"Outrageous!" Second Uncle slapped the coffee table.

Second Aunt lowered her head and kept rubbing Xi He's hand, as if that still wasn't enough. Then she saw several round scars a few centimeters above his wrist.

"What is this?" she cried out in shock.

Xi He's tone was flat. "Burned by cigarettes."

"You… why didn't you tell us?"

"You child! Must you worry your mother to death?"

Second Uncle was so angry his whole body was trembling.

The Xi family was a well-known household in the domestic ballet world. Never mind China, even abroad, those children who hadn't even grown all their hair yet dared to bully their family's child!

Xi Shui bit into an egg, gritting his teeth in anger too.

Xi He pulled down his sleeve. He was very calm. "Didn't Dad also build everything himself abroad back then? I also…"

"You also what?" Second Uncle roared, and his glasses nearly slid off his nose. "You're out there struggling on your own, and you expect the elders to be dead? Why are you so stubborn? Us elders exist to back you up, to pave the way for you. What's there to be embarrassed about?"

Second Aunt nodded again and again. "That's right, I'm your mom. A mother is supposed to be your backing from the start. Relying on your mom isn't embarrassing."

"Take your clothes off, let Mom see if there are any other injuries. Tomorrow, no, right now, we'll pack up and fly over. Mom will help you get even."

Xi Yuan clutched her bag and leaned forward to pat Xi He's arm. "Big Sister has lawyer friends over there. In this kind of situation, you can sue for compensation and demand an apology. If possible… Big Sister will find a way to help you hit back."

From the photos, it was clear Xi He had fought back, but Asians did have some physical disadvantages compared with people from Y country, not to mention that they had been a whole group while Xi He was alone.

Still, Xi Yuan kept feeling that if it was only because of this, Xi He shouldn't have fallen into such a slump. She had the vague sense that there was something else too.

"Was there anything else?" Xi Yuan asked, frowning. The Xi family had always been direct like this.

Xi He paused. "No."

"Xi He, don't make Big Sister use her connections to investigate her own younger brother."

Xi Shui had already finished the egg. He was very curious what else had happened, and he also admired Xi Yuan's sharpness and strictness.

Xi He's face went even paler, and he looked helpless. "That principal, Giovanni, is pursuing me. I can't shake him off."

"Giovanni?"

"He takes his maternal grandfather's surname. His maternal grandfather is from the royal family, and that surname is also from the royal family, but Giovanni's father seems to just be a commoner from his own country…"

By the later part, Xi Shui couldn't really follow anymore. Most of it was Big Sister talking. Big Sister had also been a principal in Y country for two years, though later she decisively returned home. She knew that side very well.

After discussing Xi He's matter, Xi He was going to go home and rest first today, and return to the dance company tomorrow. Xi Yuan personally accompanied him over.

Then it was Xi Shui's turn.

Xi Shui was pulled out of the kitchen by Xi Yuan, who held his face in both hands and looked him over again and again. "You've gotten even more handsome. What's going on?"

"Have you been eating well lately?"

Xi Shui nodded. "Very well."

He almost blurted out that Zhou Zeqi had been making him food every day.

After saying that, he looked at Xi He, hoping Xi He would keep the secret for him.

Xi Buyao was still here.

If his dad found out, the roof would be blown off.

"Exactly, you need to eat properly. Eat whatever you want, don't wrong yourself," Xi Yuan said. Even in high heels, she was as tall as Xi Shui. She patted his head. "You're turning nineteen this year too. You can date too."

Xi Shui was about to nod immediately, but before he could, Xi Buyao cut in. "No."

Xi Yuan looked at Xi Buyao in disapproval. "Third Uncle, Xi Shui is already an adult. These things are only a matter of time."

"It'll interfere with his studies," Xi Buyao said, unmoved.

Xi Shui lowered his eyelids and went listless again. He knew it, even if Big Sister said something, his dad still wouldn't agree.

Sigh, actually, it didn't matter if Dad didn't agree.

As long as Dad didn't know, that was fine.

Xi Shui immediately became happy again.

Xi Yuan pinched Xi Shui's face. "Don't listen to your dad. If you like someone, go after them. If you want to date, then date. If he doesn't give you pocket money, come to Big Sister."

Xi Buyao folded his arms and remained silent.

"Third Uncle, didn't you and Li Xiaoxianü also date in college? Why can't it be okay for our Xiao Xi?" Xi Yuan went on.

Xi Shui quietly chimed in, "Exactly, exactly."

Xi Buyao's tone was faint. "Back then I was dating his mom. We both gained twenty pounds, and because we neglected training, we lost the Varna competition."

Xi Shui said under his breath, "That was you and Mom being lovestruck. I won't be like that."

Xi Buyao: "…"

Neither Xi Buyao nor Xi Yuan really believed that, but Xi Yuan was fighting for Xi Shui like this only because she wanted him to have the right to decide these things for himself, instead of having everything approved, or not approved, by his parents.

No matter what, life, and even one's whole life, should be in one's own hands.

Even what to eat for breakfast tomorrow.

–

Xi Yuan and Xi He's family walked in front, while Xi Buyao led Xi Shui behind them.

Xi Shui was still in his pajamas, and his hair hadn't been done. He had only come downstairs to send everyone off, and he still had to go back up.

Seeing Xi Yuan go far ahead, Xi Buyao said in a low voice, "Don't really listen to Xi Yuan."

Xi Shui opened his mouth. After a few seconds, he softly retorted, "I want to listen."

!

Xi Buyao stopped walking. "What's been wrong with you lately? First you don't want to go abroad to develop, and now you're arguing with me over something like this."

Xi Shui's eyes immediately went red.

Dad always never spoke properly.

"Didn't you already sponsor that student from the attached high school?"

"…If that doesn't work either, you can sponsor another ten or eight."

His voice carried a sob. A lot of his pressure came from Xi Buyao, pressing down on him until he couldn't breathe. He also knew how exacting he was in the dance studio, but he couldn't change it. If one movement wasn't standard, he would go crazy, and all of that had been taught to him by Xi Buyao since he was little.

He had never blamed his father. The reason he could be so outstanding now was inseparable from his father's careful nurturing, but sometimes, when he was already exhausted and couldn't stop, he still wanted to blame his father a little.

Xi Buyao wasn't receiving Xi Shui's anger for the first time, but it was rare to see him angry like this, both aggrieved and upset. He froze for a moment. "I've been sponsoring that student with your mother for a long time. Dad just doesn't want you falling behind others. How could Dad give up on you?"

Xi Buyao pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped Xi Shui's tears. "A real man doesn't cry, okay?"

"Who said a real man has to be a real man? Big Sister is a woman too, and isn't she amazing?"

"Fine, fine." Xi Buyao couldn't keep up his act anymore. If the old lady at home and Xi Shui's mother knew about this, there would be another war at home.

Xi Buyao's cold expression finally couldn't hold. He sighed. "Then if you want to listen to your Big Sister, listen. But you can't just go around dating casually."

Xi Shui sniffled. "I know."

Just after he said that he knew, the glass doors of the building behind them were pulled open from the inside. Through blurred tear-filled eyes, Xi Shui saw Zhou Zeqi come out carrying a bag on one shoulder. He glanced at Xi Shui, saw Xi Buyao, then naturally turned toward the bike shed to get his bicycle.

Standing in the bike shed, he rolled the remaining half-stick of youtiao into a lump with his hand and stuffed it into his mouth in one bite. He got on his bike and shot past Xi Shui and Xi Buyao almost like a gust of wind.

Xi Buyao used what he had on hand as an example. "Someone like that won't do. Eats like a ravenous wolf, rides like he's driving a war machine, and he's built like that too…"

Xi Shui froze, the bright tears still clinging to his lashes.