KMYB | Chapter 37

Xi Shui put the thing into the inner pocket of his backpack and patted it. "Just in case."

Zhou Zeqi: "…"

"We can talk after practice."

Xi Shui caught up to him and took Zhou Zeqi's hand. "You have to hold on to me."

"Didn't we hold hands when the routine started?"

"I don't think so. You have to invite me first."

"You're dancing the woman's part?"

Xi Shui didn't think much of it. "I'm a little shorter than you."

A little over ten centimeters shorter, actually.

Among them, only Zhou Zeqi was wearing a tank top and sweatpants. The others at least had practice clothes on, and the girls were all in long skirts.

The music's introduction began. Zhou Zeqi bent down toward Xi Shui, and Xi Shui hadn't expected him to really do it. He lightly rested his hand in Zhou Zeqi's palm, bent one arm, and let his hand fall even more lightly onto Zhou Zeqi's shoulder.

The rhythm of the waltz rose and fell. Each set of steps contained 25 to 30 bars, with three beats in each bar. Hai Tinghua had chosen The Blue Danube from among the waltz pieces, and the steps were set up fairly simply. Spinning was the essence of the waltz.

Xi Shui's steps were much lighter. He didn't look like a little swan now. He looked like a butterfly.

His forehead was at the level of Zhou Zeqi's nose tip. A thin sheen of sweat had formed there. When they moved backward and then forward again, Zhou Zeqi used too much strength and Xi Shui was pulled straight into his arms.

Then Zhou Zeqi took the opportunity to lower his head and kiss him once.

But Xi Shui didn't have time to feel shy. Panicked, he hurried to keep up with the beat, muttering under his breath, "one, two-ta, three."

Zhou Zeqi: "…"

This was the first time Zhou Zeqi had truly been involved in Xi Shui's life. The dance he loved so passionately, whether ballet or now waltz, Xi Shui treated it with absolute sincerity.

Zhou Zeqi had been trained at home when he was little. These were the most basic lessons. Compared with someone like Xi Shui, who relied on raw talent, and compared with a professional dance studio, he still couldn't match up.

He stepped on Xi Shui's feet several times.

Xi Shui was afraid Zhou Zeqi might feel embarrassed, so he lightly patted his shoulder. "It's okay."

It wasn't just Zhou Zeqi. During the first three run-throughs, everyone else kept making mistakes too. There were many kinds of spins in the waltz, plus all kinds of partner swaps. At first they weren't very familiar with it, but after a few more rounds, they were much more coordinated.

Especially the girls.

Their skirts lifted with the movement, tossing the golden sunlight up with them.

Hai Tinghua sent Li Weiwei out and pulled her back in. Li Weiwei pinched her. "You've got pretty strong arms."

The lead pair was Zhou Zeqi and Xi Shui, with Hai Tinghua and Li Weiwei as the other pair, one bright and one dark. By the time they competed, one side would be in elegant, gentlemanly tailcoats, and the other in graceful, romantic long dresses.

Zhou Zeqi's palm rested against Xi Shui's lower back. The heat from his hand was much higher than Xi Shui's body temperature, like a burning iron plate firmly stuck to his back.

Xi Shui kept his abdomen tight the whole time.

He pressed his lips together and glanced at Zhou Zeqi, but swallowed back what he was about to say.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Zeqi lowered his head and asked softly, his lips close to Xi Shui's ear.

Xi Shui tilted his head away a little. "Your hand is so hot."

"Which hand?"

Zhou Zeqi could tell Xi Shui was uncomfortable. He squeezed Xi Shui's fingers. "This one?"

Another first beat out of three, then a weak beat. Zhou Zeqi pulled him back again and tightened the hand at Xi Shui's lower back a little more. "Or this one?"

Xi Shui twisted his waist and answered, "This hand is so hot."

Lin Xiaojin and his dance partner were standing right behind them, completely stunned.

Why could such an elegant waltz get turned into this by Xi Shui and Old Zhou, seriously?

Xi Shui worked up a full body of sweat, more than he ever had before. Zhou Zeqi's body temperature was so high that even the air near him felt hotter than elsewhere.

The back of his practice clothes was almost soaked through.

Summer practice clothes were very thin. Once sweat soaked in, the gauzy fabric turned completely transparent and clung to every inch of his back skin. The smooth line of his spine was faintly visible, and on both sides, a little higher up, the shape of his bones could be seen too. He was too thin to have any extra flesh.

Zhou Zeqi watched Xi Shui tip his head back to drink water, then lower his head to lift the hem of his shirt and wipe the sweat off his face. He swallowed.

"Gulp."

Xi Shui: "?"

"You want some water too?" Xi Shui held out the water bottle. "Here." He was very generous and didn't mind drinking from the same bottle as Zhou Zeqi.

Zhou Zeqi took it, tipped his head back, and drank a big mouthful, not taking his eyes off Xi Shui's face for even a second.

After Zhou Zeqi finished drinking, Xi Shui asked him, "What do you want for dinner tonight?"

"You."

Xi Shui blinked and glanced at Lin Xiaojin, who was pricking up his ears to listen nearby. Then he leaned close to Zhou Zeqi's shoulder and whispered, "Don't be so corny."

"Got a trendier way to say it?"

Xi Shui shook his head. "No, and…" He clung to Zhou Zeqi's shoulder and lowered his voice even more. "You can just say it directly."

"…"

Zhou Zeqi really couldn't hold back anymore. He grabbed Xi Shui by the nape and dragged him out into the corridor.

Xi Shui blushed red and looked at him blankly.

"…"

Zhou Zeqi braced a hand against the wall and pressed in close to Xi Shui. "Say it directly? You know what I'm talking about? What, you really want me to sleep with you?"

Xi Shui stretched his neck to check whether anyone was coming down the corridor. "Th-that is too direct, chang, change another one."

"I'm not joking with you." A droplet of sweat, gathered for a long time on Zhou Zeqi's brow bone, fell onto Xi Shui's nose. "Besides, weren't you the one who started it?"

"But we've only been together for less than a month."

More accurately, less than half a month.

"Then why did you buy those things?"

"Just in case."

"When does 'just in case' count?" Zhou Zeqi leaned close to Xi Shui's ear. "Once you allow it, that's an accident? So everything is up to you?"

Xi Shui looked at the floor. With his hands behind his back, he scratched at the wall and accidentally peeled off a bit of paint. He held the flake in his hand. "Ah…"

Zhou Zeqi knew Xi Shui was good at changing the subject.

He didn't budge.

He lowered his head and kissed Xi Shui's warm cheek. "If I win first place in the swimming competition, will the kind of accident you mean happen?"

That way of putting it was more euphemistic, and Xi Shui could accept it better.

Zhou Zeqi's eyes were dark and bright, and in them Xi Shui's face, already almost completely red, could be seen clearly. Xi Shui gave a tiny nod.

Xiaojin had said that dating could involve doin, and it was fine, he was willing.

–

At the entrance of the comprehensive building, Xi Shui said goodbye to Lin Xiaojin. "Bye-bye."

Lin Xiaojin slung his bag over one shoulder. "Where's the King of Hell Zhou?"

Xi Shui raised a hand and pointed.

Zhou Zeqi was straddling a bicycle, head down, fiddling with his phone while he waited for Xi Shui.

Lin Xiaojin's expression froze for a moment. "He really does like you."

He even got a bicycle. It was barely a few steps home!

Xi Shui ran toward the bike shed, sat on the back seat, and waved at Lin Xiaojin again.

Lin Xiaojin thought Xi Shui looked so happy now. That was nice.

It was June now, and the sun was blazing. By the time they got home, the sunlight was still scorching.

Xi Shui had already showered at the bathhouse. He had danced all day, and when Zhou Zeqi came out of the bathroom, he was already curled up asleep on the sofa.

Like a beautiful little swan curled up on the grass under the sun.

Zhou Zeqi drew the curtains halfway and turned the air conditioner up a few degrees, then went to the kitchen to start cooking.

Xi Shui actually wasn't sleeping very deeply. He could hear Zhou Zeqi's footsteps moving around the apartment, the sound of the curtain roller being pulled, and the rumble of the range hood in the kitchen.

Besides those sounds, there seemed to be the faint noise of air blowing from the air conditioner, the ticking of a clock's pendulum, and the sounds of some unnamed appliances.

Slowly, the air was filled with the smell of chili.

It smelled so good. He was so hungry.

He needed to eat more.

Otherwise, he'd waste away.

Xi Shui rolled over, buried his face in the corner of the sofa, covered his ears, and kept sleeping.

Then he had a dream that felt incredibly real.

He dreamed himself back to before, in the master bedroom, in the scene where Zhou Zeqi was holding him in his arms.

The windows were shut tight. The overly long curtains hung softly to the floor, and the dark bedding looked like a deep, black sea, or gray, thick fog hiding some monster inside it.

He didn't know how big the fire in the kitchen was, but Xi Shui felt like he was the pot being set on a gas burner.

Hands… Zhou… Zhouqi's fingers almost reached in from behind.

He couldn't see Zhou Zeqi's expression, only the real sensation, the fear of being caught by a tiger, his heartbeat racing, his breathing coming short, both hands seeming to be locked in place.

Zhouqi's eyes looked so fierce.

Xi Shui pouted. He didn't even know what he was feeling, only that he was both wronged and scared.

Zhou Zeqi came out of the kitchen carrying soup and heard soft whimpering from the sofa side.

?

He wiped his hands and went over, bent down, and turned Xi Shui around. He saw Xi Shui pouting, making dry little whimpering sounds, with no tears on his face at all.

Zhou Zeqi patted Xi Shui's face. Xi Shui woke up and looked at him in confusion.

"What did you dream about?"

The aftereffects hadn't faded from Xi Shui yet. He shrank back, curling into the sofa corner. His hair was a mess, and one side of his face still had a red mark. He looked pitifully at Zhou Zeqi.

Zhou Zeqi simply scooped him into his arms and rubbed his face against him. "Tell me, what did you dream about, hmm?"

Only then did Xi Shui come to his senses. He was awake, and that had been a dream.

But he was still very guarded as he reached out to press down on his waistband, because in the dream, Zhou Qi had also used this posture, holding him like that.

Noticing Xi Shui's little movement, Zhou Zeqi looked down. "What are you doing?"

Xi Shui said softly, "I dreamed… I dreamed that you slept with me."

Zhou Zeqi froze for a moment, then laughed. "What you think about by day comes to you in your dreams."

"You were really scary in the dream."

"How scary?"

"…I can't say. You were different from the way you are now."

Zhou Zeqi's finger tapped Xi Shui's neck again and again. "Mm, then what am I like now?"

Xi Shui sat up, full of energy. "I think you're very gentle."

"That's the first time anyone's ever described me that way," Zhou Zeqi said.

Xi Shui said, "Don't feel sorry for yourself."

"…"

Zhou Zeqi lowered his eyes and looked at Xi Shui's long eyelashes. The roots of his lashes were sparse. When he danced, his emotions were rich, and so were his feelings, but once he left the stage, he was like a child who knew nothing of the world.

"Why do you think I'm gentle?"

"I think they don't think so, but I know."

"Then guess why they're afraid of me."

"Because you're amazing at your major."

Zhou Zeqi pinched Xi Shui's cheek. "You're amazing too. Why aren't they afraid of you?"

Xi Shui thought very seriously. He lifted a hand. "Because you look like this, and I look like this."

But in truth, Xi Shui looked far less approachable than Zhou Zeqi.

He had been dancing for many years, had very few friends, and often appeared on stage under blinding light, so a sense of distance naturally surrounded him.

As for Zhou Zeqi, he was a sports student, tall and handsome, and his family was rich. He could play basketball, swim, and fight. No matter how you looked at it, he was the kind of person who would be very popular.

But because he did things too much according to his mood, and too freely, not many people dared to provoke him.

Because you never knew whether, when you provoked him, he was in a good mood or a bad one.

If he was in a good mood, fine. If he was in a bad mood, he wouldn't give you any face at all, even if you were a teacher or a parent.

But usually, Zhou Zeqi actually looked like a very easygoing, cheerful top student from the sports college.

"Xi Shui, let me bite you once." Zhou Zeqi picked Xi Shui up.

Xi Shui nodded. Since it wasn't the first time anyway, he said, "Be gentle."

He thought Zhou Zeqi was going to bite his face.

But Zhou Zeqi lowered his head and bit at his jawline. The skin warmed by the air conditioning felt slightly cool, like a block of the finest milk candy.

It would have been more fitting to say he was licking it.

The throbbing of blood vessels seemed to gather at that one point. Xi Shui clenched Zhou Zeqi's sleeve, his toes curling up, the red that had faded away in the afternoon surging back over his entire body.

Zhou Zeqi's hot hand moved downward, but his eyes stayed on Xi Shui. "What do you mean?"

Xi Shui looked at Zhou Zeqi with hope in his eyes, his voice tiny. "Then help me."