KMYB | Chapter 57

"You're even more serious about it than I am," Xi Shui said softly. "Back then I didn't know you. If I asked you, it was definitely because I approved of you. Approving of you means praising you, doesn't it?"

"…"

Zhou Zeqi pinched Xi Shui's chin hard enough to hurt.

But Xi Shui didn't cry out. He only frowned slightly. "I'm hungry."

Those three words were enough to put out Zhou Zeqi's fire for the moment. He might be unhappy, but no matter what, he would never let Xi Shui go hungry.

Xi Shui stood nearby and watched Zhou Zeqi cook. "You liked me that early?"

His eyes were bright. He turned around and promptly forgot that Zhou Zeqi had just been fierce with him. He was only curious about this, because Zhou Zeqi had never said it before, and he himself didn't have much of an impression of Zhou Zeqi.

Mostly because none of his classmates were anything less than decent-looking. There were handsome and pretty faces everywhere. Zhou Zeqi was handsome too, of course, but if it was only a fleeting glance, Xi Shui wasn't the kind of person who would linger just because someone looked good.

Zhou Zeqi said, "It wasn't liking you, just curiosity. That day I was wearing quite a lot of clothes. How could you tell at a glance that I had good muscles? It was hard not to think you were trying to hit on me."

"Hit on you?" Xi Shui froze, then hurried to explain. "No, no, I wasn't. I could tell. Your posture is really great. My teacher said I was sometimes a little lacking in strength."

"Did you later find someone to teach you how to build muscle?"

"No. It wasn't about muscles. My teacher helped me figure it out later. It was because my nutrition was a bit off."

Zhou Zeqi couldn't really remember that day anymore. He only knew it was in the restroom at the Grand Theater. Their backstage restroom must have been full, because the large public restroom outside had quite a few boys, or men, wearing makeup and performance costumes.

He was washing his hands when someone suddenly poked his shoulder. The other person was wearing a white medieval nobleman's uniform trimmed with gold, with white and gold eye makeup. The look in his eyes was sincere, but what came out of his mouth was, "Your muscles must be really great. Can you teach me?"

How did he answer again? Anyway, it must have been a refusal, or else when he saw the other person for the second time, it wouldn't have been on the T University forum.

"Eat." Zhou Zeqi plated the food.

The first time he thought Xi Shui was cute and innocent was also on the forum. That was also the first time people on the forum linked Zhou Zeqi and Xi Shui together. If it had been before, Zhou Zeqi would have already privately messaged the moderator to delete the post, but this time he didn't say anything, because the person being linked to him was Xi Shui. It suited him pretty well, unlike those ugly attention-seekers from before.

But he only let it slide. After all, they just made some noise on the forum, nothing serious.

Then Xi Shui himself stepped in, just like last time, only this time it caused far more of a stir, enough that even the neighboring school found out.

Xi Shui said: Please don't do this. I'm not a couple with him. I don't even know him.

Xi Shui said: Those pictures are all edited. I was spacing out, not thinking about him. I space out a lot.

Xi Shui said: If you keep posting like this and he really starts liking me, then what?

When no one listened and they even kept saying he was so cute, Xi Shui deleted his account. But not long after, he quietly registered a new one, only to fail to hold back again and run back to clarify.

Zhou Zeqi had never seen anyone so honest and serious before.

Later, Zhou Zeqi started following his past performances, his current performances, and the ones about to begin. Only after following him did Zhou Zeqi realize that Xi Shui's seriousness in daily life wasn't put on or forced. It extended from dance.

Xi Shui was just a very serious, very pure person.

From following his performances to climbing to over ten levels in Xi Shui's personal posts, anyway, Zhou Zeqi didn't know how it happened. Before he knew it, he had fallen for him.

Xi Shui didn't know that Zhou Zeqi had a dedicated photo album for him on his phone, with more than ten thousand pictures of him, some taken by Zhou Zeqi from below the stage, some saved from the forum, and some from Moments, the official Jingwu account, and all kinds of other sources.

–

After the busy final exams, Xi Shui was practically living in the school's rehearsal room every day, while Zhou Zeqi was at the school swimming pool. They were both busy in their own ways.

Lin Xiaojin felt a little heartbroken when he saw them. He felt bad for both of them.

There were less than ten days left, and somehow both of them were busier than before.

The day before the performance, Xi Shui finished dancing the full solo variation of the male lead, Suo Luo'er, in the rehearsal room. The connections between the turns and jumps were exquisitely graceful. When he finished, even Jiang Die, who was usually strict, applauded.

Xu Wei also changed his usual line of teasing. "Why do you look like you've lost weight? Have your boyfriend make you something good to eat and put some meat back on you."

Xi Shui had just been happy that he'd done well, and then Xu Wei said that out of nowhere. He immediately blushed and didn't know what to do. "He's made a lot of good food. I just don't feel like eating."

It was too hot, his appetite was poor, and the training load was too heavy. Even his desire to eat had dropped. Because of that, Zhou Zeqi had specially bought a large oven and a cookbook for desserts, trying every possible way to get Xi Shui to eat more.

Jiang Die hit the nail on the head. "Before I went abroad back then, I didn't have any appetite either. I just couldn't bear to leave the people here, right?"

Xi Shui said quietly that it wasn't, that it wasn't.

After showering, Xi Shui stuffed his dirty practice clothes into his bag and took a big gulp of water. Lin Xiaojin walked beside him. "See? With our training load this heavy, how could you possibly get fat? It was always you putting pressure on yourself. Look at you now, one moment of carelessness and you drop weight."

"I don't want to eat anything," Xi Shui said listlessly, stepping down the stairs one at a time.

Lin Xiaojin bumped his arm.

Xi Shui looked up.

Zhou Zeqi was leaning against his precious bicycle, head lowered as he idly fiddled with his phone. After Lin Xiaojin called out to him, he ran off. Zhou Zeqi looked at Xi Shui and pointed at the sky-blue paper bag hanging from the handlebars. "My mom just brought over some fresh steak."

Xi Shui walked over. "You're not training today?"

It was summer vacation, so there were fewer people on campus than usual, though quite a few still chose to stay. It was mealtime now, and the square was full of people coming and going from the library to the cafeteria.

Zhou Zeqi suddenly reached out and pinched Xi Shui's waist. "It's gotten a little thinner."

Xi Shui lowered his head. "Exactly. That's why I said we should kiss less and sleep less. Why don't I go sleep at my place tonight?"

"…"

"What bullshit," Zhou Zeqi snorted. "Why don't you just eat a little more rice? How could our little thing possibly get in your way?"

Xi Shui climbed onto the back seat. The orange-red sunset of the afternoon spread across half the sky opposite them. He only looked for a little while before his face started to feel hot from the sun. He lowered his head and hid behind Zhou Zeqi's broad back, muttering, "Even a mosquito's leg has flesh on it, and flesh is still flesh."

Zhou Zeqi didn't budge. "You're about to leave, and you want me to go vegetarian right now? Dream on."

Xi Shui: "!"

"You seem kind of like a hooligan," Xi Shui said.

"You're not the one who's a hooligan," Zhou Zeqi said steadily as he pedaled, glancing at the hand wrapped around his waist, then chuckled. "You just seem innocent most of the time."

Xi Shui didn't quite understand. "What do you mean?"

The smile in Zhou Zeqi's eyes was practically spilling out. He cleared his throat and mimicked Xi Shui's tone from a few nights ago.

"There, there, Qiqi, there."

Xi Shui's arms around Zhou Zeqi tightened instantly.

Zhou Zeqi still hadn't finished imitating him. He went on:

"Kiss here, kiss here."

"Hurry up, it's too slow and I'm so uncomfortable."

"So good."

Zhou Zeqi still hadn't finished when the weight behind him suddenly lightened. He glanced back. The little swan had jumped off the bike and was walking away with his head down.

Zhou Zeqi slowed down. Too slow, it wobbled a little. He followed beside Xi Shui, looking at Xi Shui's ears gone red with embarrassment. "What? You dare to say it but not admit it?"

Xi Shui said, "I dare admit it."

"You're a hooligan too," Xi Shui said. "You said baby is so good."

Zhou Zeqi laughed. "Objective fact. Baby really is amazing."

At this moment, the meaning of "so good" was not the same as usual.

Xi Shui carried the water bottle and glanced at Zhou Zeqi. "Thanks."

Zhou Zeqi adjusted his grip, then couldn't help reaching back to ruffle Xi Shui's hair.

Xi Shui couldn't help exclaiming, "Your biking skills are way too good!" Riding fast wasn't hard, but being able to maintain the same pace as walking the whole time was impressive.

"It's all right. Want to try?"

Xi Shui stopped walking, and Zhou Zeqi switched to walking beside him.

Xi Shui couldn't do it at all the way Zhou Zeqi did, slow and unhurried. He zigzagged awkwardly, riding from one side of Huaiyin Avenue to the other. "Zhou Zeqi, I can't do it. Get on. I'll take you. Let's go home, I'm hungry!"

Xi Shui carried Zhou Zeqi, and on Huaiyin Avenue, they finally began riding at a normal speed.

The evening glow spilled over their heads, and the straight stretch of Huaiyin Avenue became a landscape oil painting, with two boys in the painting, young and vibrant, right in the bloom of their youth.

Zhi Lan was waiting for them at home. When it saw Xi Shui, it clung to him at once.

Zhou Zeqi closed the door and invited Xi Shui. "Want to take a shower together?"

Xi Shui refused quickly. "I'm embarrassed. You wash by yourself."

"You were pretty shameless a few times before," Zhou Zeqi said as he walked over, pulled Zhi Lan away from Xi Shui's arms, and slipped his hand up from beneath Xi Shui's hem. "Didn't you even tell me what to use first and what to use after?"

Xi Shui was forced back until his spine pressed against the wall. "I had no strength, so asking you to help me wasn't a big deal, was it?"

"No big deal," Zhou Zeqi said, bending slightly to lift Xi Shui up in one motion. Xi Shui instinctively wrapped his legs around Zhou Zeqi's waist. "I want to help you too right now." He leaned closer to Xi Shui, his lips brushing Xi Shui's chin.

Xi Shui swallowed nervously. "Right now, right now isn't necessary, thanks."

"No need to thank me," Zhou Zeqi bit Xi Shui's lip corner. "Thank me after we're done showering."

The air conditioner in the house had just been turned on, and the air was still warm. Xi Shui was sweating all over in no time. Zhou Zeqi made him sit on top of a cabinet, took off his own shirt, and looked up, his brows and eyes like a wolf hunting prey. "Baby, put your legs on my shoulders."

Xi Shui's palms were full of sweat, and he couldn't even get a good grip on the cabinet edge. Zhou Zeqi held his legs, and he felt like he could fall any second.

In the end, they still went to the bedroom, and Xi Shui cried nonstop.

When the sky darkened, Xi Shui slept for an hour and a half. When he woke, he heard faint sounds coming from the kitchen. Zhou Zeqi must have been busy making dinner.

He rolled over, wrapped in the blankets, and his gaze happened to land on Zhou Zeqi's phone.

Phone?

Take a look?

Xi Shui had just woken up and was still a little dazed. Zhou Zeqi's phone had no password, and a swipe unlocked it. It opened directly to the photo album, probably because he'd turned the screen off without leaving the app.

Every photo in view was of himself. The newest was one just taken of him sleeping. It only showed half his face. Xi Shui zoomed in and looked, then couldn't help muttering, "I'm really good-looking."

He looked up and saw the album name at the top of the screen, "Pretty Wife."

!

Pretty Wife!

About ten minutes later, Xi Shui swayed out of the bedroom. He appeared silently behind Zhou Zeqi, wrapped his arms around him, and whispered, "Zhou Zeqi, your pretty wife is awake."