KMYB | Chapter 20

Xi Shui lowered his eyes and thought that this counted as going all out. Half a month’s living expenses, plus his pocket money, had all gone toward buying a gift for Zhou Zeqi.

Zhou Zeqi looked at the giant paper bag, the kind usually used to hold a comforter, then bent down and lifted his gaze to catch Xi Shui’s lowered, obedient eyes. "Tell me, what were you thinking?"

"What do you mean, what was I thinking?" Xi Shui frowned, a trace of displeasure showing in his beautiful peach blossom eyes.

What did Zhou Zeqi mean?

Did he not like it?

How could he not like it?

"You said yourself you were missing it."

"Then do you want it or not?"

Zhou Zeqi took the paper bag from him and reached in to pull out the receipt.

Xi Shui reached out to snatch it back. "You can’t look!"

"Why can’t I look?"

"My mom said when you give someone a gift, you have to remember to take the receipt out," Xi Shui kept his eyes fixed on the receipt pinched between Zhou Zeqi’s fingers. "Give it back to me, I forgot."

Xi Shui was serious about everything. Whether it was dancing or anything else in life, he always looked so proper that Zhou Zeqi constantly wanted to bully him, enough to make his hands itch, or his teeth.

Under the light in the room, Zhou Zeqi clearly saw the amount on the receipt and froze. "18,000?"

Xi Shui slowly lowered his hand, watching the shock on Zhou Zeqi’s face, secretly delighted inside. Good, he was happy now, right?

After Zhou Zeqi finished looking at the amount, he lowered his head to look at Xi Shui again and found that the other boy still had a hint of smug pride at the corners of his brows and eyes. "…"

"Listen, Xi Shui," Zhou Zeqi said with rare seriousness. When he was not joking around with Xi Shui, the sharpness in his brows and eyes suddenly came out, making him look intimidating. "When you buy me things in the future, remember to tell me first."

"First, underwear isn’t bought like this. This is shopping like you’re stocking up inventory."

"Second, you don’t need to buy something this expensive. Keep the money for yourself and buy something tasty or fun."

Xi Shui was startled a little by Zhou Zeqi’s seriousness. "Oh… then do I need to return it?"

"…"

"You already gave it to me."

"Fine, then next time I buy you something, I’ll tell you in advance."

There was still a tooth mark on Xi Shui’s face that Zhou Zeqi had just left there, with a bit of blood showing. Zhou Zeqi really had bitten him hard.

"Do you have medicine?"

Xi Shui touched his face. "Yeah, lots."

Dancers and athletes were about equally likely to get hurt, so both Xi Shui and Zhou Zeqi kept all kinds of medicine at home year-round, things for bruises, cuts, stopping bleeding, and dispersing stasis.

Xi Shui took Zhou Zeqi inside and pulled out a first-aid box from the built-in low cabinet in the practice room.

Zhou Zeqi beckoned to him.

He immediately sat over obediently.

Zhou Zeqi crouched in front of Xi Shui, rummaged through the first-aid box for a tube of ointment, and did not open it right away. Instead, he suddenly reached out and touched Xi Shui’s stomach. "How much did you eat today?"

Zhou Zeqi’s palm was huge, and his temperature was high. It burned so hot that Xi Shui’s lower abdomen instinctively pulled inward. "Not much. Oh, right, the owner gave me two bowls of ice jelly. I’ll give you one later."

"Why only one bowl for me?" Zhou Zeqi withdrew his hand and slowly unscrewed the cap of the ointment. "You went out to eat with someone else, and you still keep half of what you bring back for yourself?"

Xi Shui saw that Zhou Zeqi was about to start being fussy with him again.

He reached out and touched Zhou Zeqi’s face. "Then both bowls can be yours."

His touch was very light, making one think of the way he moved air when he danced, unlike Zhou Zeqi, who either pinched him, squeezed him, or bit him with his mouth.

"Is that what I want, the ice jelly?"

"…"

"Your face," Zhou Zeqi said succinctly.

Xi Shui immediately leaned his face over, letting Zhou Zeqi apply the medicine. He blinked and looked at Zhou Zeqi’s eyelashes. "Your eyelashes are so long."

"Before you answer my question," Zhou Zeqi let out a faint scoff, "don’t even think about changing the subject."

"Oh, okay," Xi Shui said.

After the ointment was applied, Xi Shui also figured out how to explain why he had gone out to eat with Yun Chu.

"I told Lin Xiaojin before that I wanted to date…" Xi Shui’s speech was slow and unhurried, while his brain quickly sorted through reasons that would persuade Zhou Zeqi. "Then Lin Xiaojin went to find his childhood friend, and his childhood friend introduced me to someone."

Xi Shui keenly sensed that after he finished speaking, Zhou Zeqi’s face immediately turned cold.

The low pressure around him made Xi Shui unable to help swallowing.

He continued, "Actually, I wanted to date you, not anyone else, so I made things clear with Yun Chu. I also promised to treat him to a meal. Today just happened to be the day I was going to buy you a gift, so I took the chance to treat him to dinner too."

After Xi Shui finished, he waited for Zhou Zeqi’s response.

He waited so long that the flowers were practically about to wilt.

A few minutes passed. Zhou Zeqi’s eyelashes lifted slightly. His eyes were not big, and the shape was long and narrow, with a double eyelid that was not especially obvious. If he was not smiling, he looked like someone very hard to deal with.

Zhou Zeqi wrapped his hand around Xi Shui’s exposed ankle, smiling faintly. "Xi Shui, you’d better make sure you’re not lying to me."

Xi Shui avoided Zhou Zeqi’s gaze for a moment, then looked back up, guilty as hell.

"Of course, I promise."

He absolutely would not let Zhou Zeqi know what his original purpose had been.

As long as he didn’t know, then it didn’t exist.

Thinking that, Xi Shui gave Zhou Zeqi a huge smile.

"…"

–

The two of them agreed to go to school together the next day.

The weather was excellent. Just after six in the morning, sunlight was already piercing down from the high clouds, coating the shrubs and tall cypress trees in the park with a layer of gold.

Xi Shui got up and weighed himself.

50.3 kg.

Well, that was normal, right? He had hotpot yesterday, after all, and food like that was so salty.

He just needed to kiss Zhou Zeqi again today.

It was the first time Xi Shui was going to school with Zhou Zeqi, and for some reason, he was super excited.

For once in his life, Xi Shui felt like the clothes in his closet were a little too samey. In summer, they were all T-shirts. In autumn, they were all shirts and sweaters.

Xi Shui picked a beige short-sleeved shirt. Anyway, his clothes were all bought by his family, so he didn’t need to worry about it. He’d tell his mom later.

Zhou Zeqi was waiting in the corridor, yawning.

After dawdling for quite a while, Xi Shui finally came out of the house.

Zhou Zeqi handed over the breakfast in his hand. "Slowpoke."

"I was looking for clothes," Xi Shui defended himself as he took the sandwich out of the bag.

"Why are you holding an egg?"

Zhou Zeqi didn’t say anything. He lifted the egg and tapped it on his forehead once, then peeled off the shell in a few quick motions and stuffed it into Xi Shui’s hand. "For you."

He casually separated the yolk too and tossed it straight into his own mouth.

Seeing that Xi Shui was still staring at him eagerly, Zhou Zeqi raised a brow. "What, you want some?"

Xi Shui shook his head. "No, usually my yolk is fed to Xiao Ye."

Xiao Ye?

Who was Xiao Ye?

"Xiao Ye is that cat."

Zhou Zeqi: "…"

"It’s got to weigh at least a dozen pounds by now, it needs to lose some weight." Zhou Zeqi thought of that orange tabby, walking around all wobbly. That cat sometimes showed up at school too, smart enough to be practically a spirit. Whoever fed it, it would go rub up against them.

Xi Shui paused. "Zhou Zeqi, why aren’t you fat at all? You eat so much every day, just like a bottomless pit…"

"A bottomless pit?" Zhou Zeqi yanked Xi Shui into his arms and pinched the back of his neck. "I burn more than twice what you do. Did you think I just play around every day?"

In Zhou Zeqi’s arms, Xi Shui looked up at him. "But your rice bowl really is huge. It’s like my dog’s food bowl."

After Xi Shui said that, seeing Zhou Zeqi’s expression go dark and unreadable, clearly the look of someone considering how to deal with him, he hurriedly broke free and changed the topic. "Zhou Zeqi, call me Xiao Xi from now on. That’s my nickname."

"What about you? Do you have a nickname? Is it Xiao Zhou?"

"I don’t have a nickname," Zhou Zeqi said.

"Then I’ll give you one," Xi Shui said after finishing his sandwich and tossing the trash into the hallway bin. Wiping his hands with a tissue as he spoke, he added, "How about Qi Qi? I think it’s really cute."

Xi Shui actually talked a lot, but most of it was nonsense, and he was so jumpy in his thinking that even Lin Xiaojin sometimes couldn’t be bothered to deal with him.

But Zhou Zeqi was very patient with him. No matter what he said, Zhou Zeqi would always respond.

"Not very."

"Why not?"

"You’re the cute one."

"I am cute, which is why my nickname is Xiao Xi."

"Qi Qi, Qi Qi…" Xi Shui chased after Zhou Zeqi and reached from behind to take his hand. "Walk slower, I can’t keep up."

The two of them bickered all the way until they reached Huaiyin Avenue, where they were about to split up and head to their respective colleges.

Zhou Zeqi grabbed Xi Shui, who was about to turn around and leave without any hesitation, and pulled him back to face him. "Kiss me before you go."

Xi Shui clutched the strap of his shoulder bag, his face turning red in an instant. His pale, faintly pink face looked delicious.

Xi Shui looked around, then took the initiative and stepped forward. "You kiss me, or I kiss you?"

Zhou Zeqi lifted a hand and brushed aside a few wisps of hair from Xi Shui’s forehead. "Up to you."

"I don’t know," Xi Shui said nervously. "My heart is beating so fast."

"I can hear it."

"That loud?"

"Pretty much."

The wind blew in from the far end of the widest avenue in their school, carrying the delicate fragrance of locust blossoms in bloom. Xi Shui didn’t know whether he was being blown dizzy by the wind or dazed by Zhou Zeqi. He lifted his head and kissed Zhou Zeqi on the lips, then pulled away at once.

After kissing him, Xi Shui took a few steps back and looked at Zhou Zeqi from afar. "I feel like I’m about to fly."

Zhou Zeqi tilted his head slightly. "That perfunctory?"

"I only know how to kiss like that."

"Didn’t I teach you?"

Zhou Zeqi’s gaze was too aggressive. Xi Shui’s scalp tightened as he backed away step by step. "I’m going to class. Bye-bye, see you tonight."

"See you at noon," Zhou Zeqi corrected him.

"Why?"

"I’ll come pick you up at noon, then we’ll eat at our cafeteria." Zhou Zeqi put down his backpack and took out a few pieces of chocolate, tossing them toward Xi Shui.

Xi Shui didn’t catch them, and they all dropped to the ground in a panic. He crouched down to pick them up and stuffed them into his pocket. "They’re definitely all broken now. You’re so annoying. How am I supposed to catch them? I’m not on the basketball team."

"Why would I go eat at your cafeteria?" Xi Shui only realized it belatedly, and looked up at Zhou Zeqi in confusion.

Zhou Zeqi walked over, crouched down as well, picked up the last piece of chocolate from the ground, peeled off the outer wrapper absentmindedly, and only then stuffed it into Xi Shui’s mouth.

"Too many people are after you. I’m taking you around for a lap so they’ll stop trying to make moves on you behind your back, or out in the open."

Xi Shui didn’t notice that the possessiveness in Zhou Zeqi’s eyes was already about to break out of its cage. He smiled until his eyes curved. "Okay!"

——————–

Author’s note:

Xiao Xi: Chocolate is bitter, but I’m sweet