KMYB | Chapter 67

"Cough, cough."

A few coughs in a row pulled the two of them apart. It was the white-haired old lady next door. She looked at Zhou Zeqi, then at Xi Shui. Xi Shui hurriedly introduced him, "This is my boyfriend." After that, he looked at Zhou Zeqi. "This is Sandwich Lady."

Because the old lady especially loved sandwiches and often made a lot to give to the neighbors here, even though she was already over seventy, she was sweet and warm in personality, and everyone here affectionately called her Sandwich Lady.

Zhou Zeqi nodded at her, and so the old lady asked him in very, very clumsy Chinese mixed with English, "Oh, my poor baby, you no speak hard WEN?"

Zhou Zeqi could only answer in English, "I can. Nice to meet you."

Xi Shui glanced up at Zhou Zeqi for a few seconds. Zhou Zeqi had never been the kind of person who was especially enthusiastic toward strangers, no matter who they were.

"Sandwich Lady, we’re leaving now," Xi Shui said goodbye in Chinese. "Bye-bye."

The old lady also said in Chinese, "Bai-bai."

That little interruption cooled the heat between the two of them down a little. Xi Shui grabbed Zhou Zeqi’s hand and shook it, looking at the patterned paving stones beneath his feet. "I thought about it. I’m basically a junior now, right? But I’m not even nineteen yet. I’ll only turn nineteen at the end of the year, a few days before New Year’s Eve. Even if I graduate, I still won’t be old enough to legally get married. Such a pity."

Zhou Zeqi said, "It’s not like we’re short on time."

Xi Shui said, "True. We still have lots and lots and lots and lots of time."

Newluo’s subway had still been built many years ago. The city aboveground was enormous, and underground, you couldn’t just move things around casually. Zhou Zeqi held Xi Shui’s hand. He was a head taller than plenty of foreigners.

Xi Shui held onto the hanging strap, though he didn’t really need to. Zhou Zeqi would have steadied him anyway, and wouldn’t let him fall.

He leaned half against Zhou Zeqi’s shoulder and happened to catch a local boy sneaking looks at Zhou Zeqi. The boy looked young, fashionable. When he met Xi Shui’s gaze, he didn’t flinch at all and met it openly. Xi Shui stared at him, eyes unblinking, until the boy grew visibly uncomfortable and looked away.

Only then did Xi Shui slowly raise his eyes to Zhou Zeqi.

Zhou Zeqi’s facial features were the kind considered highly sculpted back home. Dark, fierce eyes sat in deep-set sockets, and his face had smooth, sharp lines. A face like his stood out anywhere, even abroad.

Just like Xi Shui, once a person’s looks were perfect enough, the differences in racial aesthetics could start to blur.

When they got to the street, the boy who had been staring at Zhou Zeqi on the subway caught up to them. But the one he reached for was Xi Shui. He apologized several times in a row, then asked very respectfully, "Can the three of us hang out together?"

Zhou Zeqi understood almost instantly. Xi Shui, on the other hand, was completely confused.

Zhou Zeqi pulled Xi Shui aside, rattled off a string of curses in English in a flat tone, then turned and walked off with Xi Shui in tow. Xi Shui followed beside him, still amused. "Even though you were speaking really fast, I got it. You said you’d break his dick into pieces and stuff it into his pig brain."

Zhou Zeqi put an arm around Xi Shui’s shoulders. "Do people hit on you too, usually?"

Xi Shui looked straight at Zhou Zeqi with an expression that said, What are you thinking? Zhou Zeqi thought the next second he’d say, What are you thinking? You’re overthinking it. Instead, Xi Shui bumped his shoulder and said, "Of course. I’m this handsome, how could nobody hit on me?"

Zhou Zeqi: "…"

People came and went on the street. Along the roadside, a few young people on bicycles sped past, the wind lifting the hem of Xi Shui’s trench coat.

Zhou Zeqi looked at the smug expression on Xi Shui’s face and got annoyed. He pinched Xi Shui’s cheek and bit down hard.

Less than ten minutes on foot away was Newluo’s opera house, a very classical, grand, medieval-noble style building, occupying a vast area. Above the arched entrance, the fan-shaped glass had stained-glass paintings.

Xi Shui asked a passerby to take a photo of him and Zhou Zeqi at the entrance. Looking at the picture, he said, "That way it looks like we’re studying together."

It was break time then, and a lot of people Xi Shui knew came out of the opera house. Of course they spotted Xi Shui at a glance. He was too eye-catching, and so was the person beside him.

Xi Shui had said "This is my boyfriend" so many times his mouth was dry. He dragged Zhou Zeqi and ran, while Zhou Zeqi looked unwilling all the way.

"Why aren’t we going in?" Zhou Zeqi asked.

Xi Shui asked in confusion, "Don’t you hate dealing with people the most?"

"I don’t hate it now."

"Why not?"

"If we linger a little longer, more people will know you’re not single."

Xi Shui shook his head. "No need to worry. I already told them, they all know."

After saying that, Xi Shui even patted Zhou Zeqi on the shoulder with great generosity. "Relax, I’ll give you plenty of security."

Zhou Zeqi had given him more than enough security. He couldn’t let Zhou Zeqi keep worrying, either.

His mom had said that love was mutual.

–

In the evening, Zhou Zeqi and Xi Shui bought a few steaks and a big bag of other side dishes from the supermarket and headed back. When they got off the car, the snow that had only been drifting down in sparse flakes suddenly grew heavy, dropping quickly, thick and scattered, with the distance between each flake so small it was like willow catkins. When they landed on your shoulder, it took a while before they fully melted into water. It seemed the temperature was dropping along with it.

Zhou Zeqi said, "Back home, people can still wear tank tops and shorts during the day."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Xi Shui open the umbrella.

With a thump, the black umbrella canopy rose over Zhou Zeqi’s head.

Zhou Zeqi frowned and pushed the handle away. "It’s snowing. Why are you using an umbrella?"

Xi Shui said righteously, "My dad said that even in snow, your hair can still get wet, and you can still catch a cold. Aren’t you going to use it?"

"No."

"If you’re not using it, fine. If you catch a cold, I’m not taking care of you."

Xi Shui walked beside Zhou Zeqi with a huge black umbrella. After a few steps, he would try to tilt it back over Zhou Zeqi again. When Zhou Zeqi pushed it away, he would obediently walk for a bit on his own, then after a short while he would try again to move it back over Zhou Zeqi’s head, only to be pushed away once more.

They kept shoving and tugging all the way home.

Xi He and Lan Lan were standing on the second-floor terrace, each holding a cup of unsweetened Americano, watching the two of them below push the umbrella back and forth.

"Elementary school kids?"

"Pretty much."

At the door, Xi Shui closed the umbrella and noticed that the water formed from the melting snow was running down Zhou Zeqi’s clothes in droplets. The trench coat had a leather surface, so it wouldn’t soak through to the inner layer, but even so, it still looked a little bedraggled.

Zhou Zeqi’s hair even looked damp.

Xi Shui set the umbrella in the corner. "I told you, but you still didn’t believe me."

There was no one here, and the sky had already darkened. Everything around them was a vast white, as if a pure white curtain had been yanked down.

Zhou Zeqi pulled Xi Shui in front of him and kissed him without the slightest pause. Their lips were both icy cold, and only the inside of their mouths and the breath they exhaled were warm. Xi Shui kept backing up, only to be pulled back again. Zhou Zeqi moved from his lips and teeth to the side of his face, to his earlobe.

Their breathing tangled together. In a low voice, Zhou Zeqi said, "Xi Shui, do you know your smug face is really asking to be fucked."

Xi Shui was hot and soft all over. "I don’t know. I can’t see it."

He was thinking that since the weather was so cold, he needed to kiss Zhou Zeqi more and more. It would keep him warm and prevent a cold. That was great.

They lingered at the doorway for a while before going in to change shoes and take off their coats.

Xi He was in the living room, studying how to light the fireplace. A basket of firewood sat by his feet, and a tablet rested on his knee as he looked at the instructions.

Xi Shui abandoned Zhou Zeqi and ran over eagerly. "What are you doing?"

"Lighting the fire."

"The house has heating," Xi Shui said.

Xi He glanced at him. "This is for atmosphere. Tomorrow night we can sit here, play cards, and eat barbecue."

There was no rehearsal tomorrow, everyone would be home.

Xi Shui thought Third Brother was right, and volunteered to help. Half his body was almost buried in the fireplace. According to the tutorial, the firewood couldn’t be stacked too tightly, there had to be gaps so oxygen could flow through, then the fire would be able to catch.

After half an hour of work, the fire in the fireplace finally began to grow stronger.

Just as the temperature dropped, Xi Shui felt warmer, so he ran to the kitchen to help Zhou Zeqi cook. But they were having Western food tonight, and Xi Shui couldn’t help much. He could only stand nearby and ask, "Can I have a little?"

Being with Zhou Zeqi, even just watching him cook, made him happy. Zhou Zeqi would still give him the tastiest part.

After they finished dinner with everyone, and after Lan Lan dragged him off for a bit of teasing, he finally went upstairs to wash up.

Xi Shui’s room also had a tiny little terrace, ridiculously tiny, only big enough for a small round table and a lounge chair. Even the lounge chair couldn’t fully recline, only halfway.

The snow suddenly started falling especially hard. Smoke rose from the chimneys of the apartment building across the way too, but it was hard to make out because of the heavy snow.

Xi Shui slid the window open, then shivered from the cold wind that rushed in and quickly shut it again.

The moment he turned around, before he even saw anyone, he heard a sneeze.

It was Zhou Zeqi.

Zhou Zeqi was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and long pants. While wiping his wet hair with a towel, he sneezed twice in a row. Xi Shui walked over. "You caught a cold?"

"No."

"I know, you’re just being stubborn."

"…"

Xi Shui found Zhou Zeqi a thicker blanket and let him sit at the desk. He could play games or read, anything. Then he went to ask Xi He if there was any medicine that could help prevent a cold in advance.

Xi He was reading a professional book. He tossed out several packs of Ganmaoling from the drawer. "Not expired yet."

Xi Shui happily turned to leave, but Xi He stopped him. "He’s as strong as an ox. You go out for one trip and you don’t catch a cold, but he does?"

Xi Shui said solemnly, "Maybe it’s because my constitution is stronger than his."

"…"

What kind of confidence was that? Clearly you’re the one who used an umbrella.

Following the instructions, Xi Shui brewed the cold medicine and brought the cup back to the room.

He placed the steaming, black medicine in front of Zhou Zeqi. "Let it cool a little before you drink it."

Zhou Zeqi could tell what medicine it was from the smell alone.

After saying that, Zhou Zeqi coughed a few more times.

It wasn’t just a cold. Maybe he was also a little unaccustomed to the climate here.

"Is there an extra room? We can sleep separately." Zhou Zeqi pulled Xi Shui into his arms and let him sit on his lap. Afraid of passing the cold to him, he didn’t kiss him, only rubbed against the crook of his neck.

Xi Shui said, "No."

Zhou Zeqi looked at him.

Xi Shui couldn’t withstand Zhou Zeqi staring at him expressionlessly, so he said softly, "I’m not afraid. My constitution is stronger than yours."

Zhou Zeqi burst out laughing on the spot.

Xi Shui was shocked. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing, I just want to laugh."

Xi Shui was half convinced and half doubtful. Holding his phone, he looked at the webpage that had popped up from the thing he was searching for, and read it to Zhou Zeqi. "After catching a cold, sweating a bit properly can be good for you."

Zhou Zeqi stared at Xi Shui’s pajama top, which had somehow slipped off one shoulder. The room was warm, and Xi Shui himself hadn’t noticed.

This time, Xi Shui thought for a very long time. Sitting on Zhou Zeqi’s lap, he searched the web very seriously. After finally finishing his search, he put down his phone, leaned close to Zhou Zeqi’s ear, and said, "How about we sleep together? That way we can sweat."

Author’s note:

Old Zhou: This kind of cold can come a few more times.