KMYB | Chapter 11

Xi Shui was startled. Zhou Zeqi was so strong that he practically lifted him right off the ground.

"I want to go back," Xi Shui said softly, key clenched in his hand.

Zhou Zeqi gave a low "Mm," but he didn’t move from in front of Xi Shui. Xi Shui’s back was pressed against the door, and the sweat that had broken out under the sun had already dried. Now it was cold sweat. Zhou Zeqi was really fierce.

Xi Shui sneaked a glance upward and sized up Zhou Zeqi’s place.

It was twice as big as the place he lived in. The living room was especially spacious and open, with a dark gray sofa, dark gray curtains, and a large balcony outside. Right next door was his home.

"What are you going back for?" Zhou Zeqi asked, his eyelids half-lowered and his voice a little lazy. "You said you wanted to date me. Don’t you want to spend more time with me?"

Xi Shui didn’t know!

He didn’t know how to date.

Then whatever Zhou Zeqi said went.

"I do," Xi Shui nodded.

"Then why still go back?"

"To take a nap."

"Your place only has one bedroom. Are you going to sleep with them?"

"If not?"

Zhou Zeqi took a step back, putting a little distance between them. "My bed is pretty big."

"How big?"

"Very big."

Before Zhou Zeqi moved in, he had replaced all the junk Zhou Zezhi had left behind. The bed now was custom-made, over two meters wide and nearly three meters long. It wasn’t high, and the floor was covered with a carpet, so even if someone rolled straight off the bed, it wouldn’t hurt.

A beat late, Xi Shui finally realized that something about their conversation seemed off. He pressed himself closer to the door again. "I’m not going to sleep with you, oh."

"…"

Zhou Zeqi really had not been thinking that far ahead.

He would rather stroke the little swan’s feathers, watch him shine brilliantly in the center of the stage. Even now, he still felt they should take things slowly. Xi Shui seemed to understand nothing at all.

And then Xi Shui hit him with that, right to the head.

When feelings grew deep, everything would fall into place naturally. As for whether they slept together, that wasn’t for Xi Shui to decide.

"Then I want you to stay here with me. Is that not okay?"

Of course that was okay.

Xi Shui wanted that too, wanted to take the chance to steal a kiss from him.

Zhou Zeqi went into the bedroom and came back with a new pair of slippers. Crouching in front of Xi Shui, he asked, "What size shoes do you wear?"

Xi Shui was still dazed from being yanked around by Zhou Zeqi, and hadn’t fully come back to himself yet. He looked down and said, "42."

"These are 45. Make do for now. If you mind, you can bring your own over and wear them here later." Zhou Zeqi set the slippers by his feet. When he stood up, he blocked the sunlight from the floor-to-ceiling window that had been shining into Xi Shui’s eyes.

Xi Shui untied the laces on his canvas shoes. He liked cleanliness, and both the shoe uppers and laces were spotless. Wearing light-colored socks, he shoved his feet into the slippers and stepped twice. "Aww, they’re big."

Zhou Zeqi laughed.

"Do you want something to drink? I’ve got all kinds of drinks and sodas at home."

Wearing slippers that were several sizes too large, Xi Shui followed him into the kitchen.

He liked iced soda, especially when he was in a bad mood. Not only did he like iced soda, he also wanted cake and fried chicken. But now he was in a very good mood, so…

"I want coffee, no sugar!" Xi Shui was not being polite at all.

Zhou Zeqi didn’t say he was demanding. He opened the fridge, looked around, then pulled out two bottles of cold brew. "It’ll be bitter."

"I like bitter things."

Zhou Zeqi took a new cup from the counter and was just about to pour the coffee into it when a pale hand pressed down on the back of his hand. Xi Shui said softly, "No need for a new cup. What about yours? I don’t mind you."

At the sports field at Beijing Sports University before, Zhou Zeqi had thought Xi Shui was the one who minded him. Now Xi Shui wanted to correct that impression.

The bright kitchen light fell into Xi Shui’s eyes, making them look even more clear and sparkling.

Zhou Zeqi looked away and continued pouring the coffee into the cup. "But I still need to drink water. From now on, this cup is yours."

"With ice?"

"Mm."

The ice maker had been running the whole time. Zhou Zeqi slid the coffee in front of Xi Shui, and Xi Shui stood beside it, cradling the cup as he took a big sip. So refreshing.

Seeing him so happy, a faint smile also spread through Zhou Zeqi’s eyes.

Zhou Zeqi’s nickname was Zhou Yama, and a large part of the reason was that he didn’t show his emotions on his face. When he smiled, it was as if he wasn’t smiling, and when he wasn’t smiling, it was still as if he were smiling, so there was no way to tell what he really meant when he spoke to you.

Another reason was that he was crazy, and self-willed too. In Wu Fengyi and the others’ words, he was free, unrestrained.

He wanted to switch majors, so he switched, not caring about his 700-point gaokao score or the dean’s attempts to keep him. Once he got to the sports institute and found their classes boring, he earned two years’ worth of credits in one year, then used the rest of the time to add another major. In the middle of it all, the swim team coach even caught him and sent him to the national college swimming competition, where he took first place.

Zhou Zeqi either didn’t do something, or he did it to the best of his ability. In a sense, he and Xi Shui were the same kind of person, except Xi Shui only focused on ballet.

Xi Shui drank the coffee down to the bottom. When he saw that Zhou Zeqi was still staring at him, that look was a little scary.

Xi Shui thought Zhou Zeqi was upset that he hadn’t finished it cleanly, that he had wasted it.

He held the cup, tilted his head back, and poured the rest into his mouth with all his might.

There really wasn’t any left.

A hand reached out and took the cup from Xi Shui. "You finished it and you’re still trying to drink what? Want more?"

"No more." Xi Shui shook his head.

Zhou Zeqi naturally took Xi Shui’s hand and led him outside. "I’m going to shower. I’ll turn on the TV. Watch whatever you want. If you want to sleep, you can go to the bedroom, or the sofa."

Xi Shui felt that Zhou Zeqi’s hand was still very hot.

"Are the body temperatures of sports students all this high?"

As soon as he said it, Zhou Zeqi turned back and gave him a half-smiling look. "All?"

Xi Shui could tell.

Zhou Zeqi was jealous.

But he didn’t get the chance to correct himself. Zhou Zeqi tugged his hand and pulled him straight into his arms, then pressed Xi Shui’s face against his neck.

"Xi Shui, you can’t say things like that to other people. It can easily cause misunderstandings." Zhou Zeqi had Xi Shui in his arms. He was so slender.

Xi Shui smelled the faint scent of sweat on him, along with the grapefruit fragrance he had liked last time.

And something else.

It had to be hormones.

Xi Shui’s heart was pounding wildly, his mouth dry. He clenched his fist and said in a low voice, "I’m thirsty again."

Zhou Zeqi slowly let him go. "If you want something to drink, get it yourself from the fridge."

Then he went to shower.

–

Drink whatever you want. That was so nice.

Xi Shui ran happily to the fridge like a little deer. There were lots of drinks and sodas, but nothing to eat. He hesitated between Sprite and soda water in the end and picked the soda water, since he had already had Sprite today.

The screen playing the movie was huge, and Xi Shui just picked one at random.

He took out his phone and typed into Baidu, head lowered: What should you do when dating?

The internet speed was pretty good, and the answers popped up quickly. There were too many of them, and Xi Shui was dazzled by all of it.

You had to make the other person happy, prepare surprises for them, be considerate and tolerant of each other, only like them alone… Xi Shui’s face fell. He had only wanted to steal a kiss, but he hadn’t expected there to be so many things to do.

Xi Shui kept scrolling, wanting to see if there was some simplified version of dating.

"Couples should have regular doi, which can improve the relationship."

Doi?

What doi?

Xi Shui copied it and searched.

!

This was not okay!

That was something only people who liked each other could do. Did Zhou Zeqi like him? He didn’t like Zhou Zeqi either, he just wanted to kiss Zhou Zeqi.

Xi Shui silently exited the search engine and put his phone aside. Watching the movie, with the afternoon heat blazing outside and the air-conditioning on inside, he grew drowsy. Hugging a throw pillow, he lay down on the sofa and fell asleep.

You couldn’t skip a nap.

Otherwise you’d have no energy.

And even if you slept, it still wouldn’t help. You’d still have no energy.

The sound of running water in the bathroom stopped, and Zhou Zeqi came out. The movie volume in the living room had been turned down, the curtains trailing onto the floor. There was no one around, and he couldn’t see Xi Shui anywhere.

Gone?

Zhou Zeqi walked over to the sofa and only then saw Xi Shui curled up inside it, sleeping soundly.

The way Xi Shui slept was even more catlike now, with no aggression at all. His lips were slightly parted, thick lashes resting under his eyes, fingers gripping the pillow tightly in his arms.

Zhou Zeqi turned off the movie and went back to the bedroom to get a thin blanket. He gently covered Xi Shui with it.

Just then, Zhou Zeqi’s phone rang sharply by the entryway. Xi Shui immediately woke up, though not fully. Looking up at Zhou Zeqi above him, his voice hoarse, he said, "You, keep it down."

He muttered that one line, rolled over to face the back of the sofa, and buried his face hard into it.

Zhou Zeqi went to answer the call and walked into the bedroom.

"Old Zhou, hurry, hurry, we’re all dying of curiosity. What did Xi Shui come找你 for? Why did he even send you flowers? And you deserve gardenias? I think foxtail grass suits you better."

"Don’t tell me he confessed to you? Oh, oh, you agreed?"

"I knew long ago that you had designs on someone. Hurry up and teach us, how did you make the one you had your eye on come to you on his own? This makes no scientific sense?"

Zhou Zeqi rubbed his thumb over his phone. "As for that, I’m not sure."

Xi Shui clearly had ulterior motives. It was obvious enough, because Xi Shui wasn’t the type to fall this easily or act so recklessly. But whether his intentions were pure or not, their relationship was already set now, and he would wait for Xi Shui to change his mind.

Besides, Xi Shui had come to him at a time like this, which meant there was still some value in him that Xi Shui acknowledged. That was pretty good.

Better than looking for someone else.

"No way, no way, family, my family, did you hear that?" Wu Fengyi held up his phone. "Old Zhou knows the guy might be messing with him, and he still goes out of his way to send warmth. Old Zhou is really not worth much at all."

Zhou Zeqi slapped the call shut.

He knew it. Wu Chibang and the others were just jealous.

–

Xi Shui slept until it was dark. When he woke up, the surroundings were completely quiet, and that lonely feeling of being on his own rose up again at once.

"Awake?" A deep male voice came from the shadows.

Xi Shui gradually made out the room around him. He remembered that he was at Zhou Zeqi’s, at his boyfriend’s home.

Zhou Zeqi was sitting at the end of the sofa Xi Shui had been lying on, head lowered as he looked at his phone. The cold glow of the screen outlined his sharp facial features, giving him a fierce and dangerous air.

Xi Shui thought, if Zhou Zeqi found out he had ulterior motives, would he kill him?

So it was better to make this quick.

"Now that you’re awake, I’ll turn on the light. Do you want to eat anything? I can make it for you."

Zhou Zeqi was about to stand up, but before he could, Xi Shui, who had been lying down, suddenly lunged over and扑 into his arms. Xi Shui’s voice trembled. "Don’t turn on the light."

Zhou Zeqi set down his phone and slowly put his left hand around Xi Shui’s waist, afraid he would fall to the floor.

"Why can’t I turn on the light?"

Xi Shui leaned closer to Zhou Zeqi, his gaze searching for Zhou Zeqi’s lips. He said softly, "If you turn on the light, I won’t dare kiss you." His final syllable was very low, sounding a little aggrieved.

Zhou Zeqi’s hand around Xi Shui’s waist tightened sharply.

——————–

Author’s note:

Xiao Xi’s hidden identity: Beijing University straight-attack team captain, Beijing University idiot team captain