KMYB | Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Zhou Zeqi’s gaze lingered on Xi Shui’s face. After a few seconds, he looked away and let his eyes settle on a cluster of wildflowers in the distance. "Any time."

Between the mottled shadows of the trees, Zhou Zeqi’s ears were red, as if they had been scorched by a blaze.

Xi Shui just didn’t notice.

Xi Shui clasped both hands together, held them up to his mouth, and breathed warm air into them.

"Ha~"

"It still smells like durian," Xi Shui said, lifting his head. "I should stand a little farther from you."

Zhou Zeqi: "…"

Luckily, the mountain breeze swept in from all directions. Xi Shui felt that if he stood in the wind for a bit, the durian smell would probably fade a lot.

The others had finally finished making their wishes too.

Zhang Kan was dragged away by Meng Kewen in the end, and he shouted, "I still have a few wishes I haven’t made!"

Meng Kewen looked down on his dragging, dawdling habit. He was slow with everything. "There’s a meteor shower tonight. Good grief, there’ll be so many meteors you can make wishes for your next life too."

When they had climbed up the mountain path, it hadn’t felt all that high, but standing at the top and looking down, the trail led straight to the highway, and the steep steps seemed to drop almost vertically. It made people feel uneasy just looking at it.

Xi Shui walked very carefully.

Zhou Zeqi glanced at Xi Shui, who was inching down the slope cautiously the whole way, clutching leaves as he went.

Without overthinking it, he stepped straight into the dense woods nearby. Like a tiger returning to its mountain, he made such a commotion that everyone craned their necks to look.

"Holy shit, a big tiger!!!" Wu Fengyi shouted, grabbing his collar.

Even though it was an act, Meng Kewen immediately chimed in with his own line.

"The earth god’s answering prayers, holy crap! Zhang Kan, look behind you! Why is there a little old man on your back?!"

The forest was quiet. They were still some distance from the highway, and the mountain wind made everyone feel cold all over. With that sudden scare, even their scalps felt cold.

A whole group of them screamed at each other in a jumble.

Xi Shui stood where he was, his expression calm.

Lin Xiaojin came bumping into him. "Aren’t you scared?"

Xi Shui shook his head. "No."

Not long after, Zhou Zeqi came back. He was carrying two tree branches, and while he put away the knife and tucked it into his pocket, he casually tossed one branch to Xi Shui. "Use this so you don’t slip."

The branch had been carefully trimmed. It was just the right length, just the right thickness.

Lin Xiaojin didn’t get it. "You could carry Xi Shui down instead."

Zhou Zeqi pointed with the stick in his hand at the stretch of road they still had to walk and said, "If I’m carrying someone, the chance of us falling down will double."

Xi Shui and Lin Xiaojin went down more carefully, while Meng Kewen, Wu Fengyi, and the others practically tumbled their way down while jostling each other, so they were much faster than the two of them.

By the time they got back to the highway and drove up to the parking area near the mountaintop, it was almost two o’clock.

Wu Fengyi and the others got out of the car in a neat row, each dragging their things out of the vehicle. Every one of them had a big backpack, and if you added a blue-and-white checkered woven bag, they looked exactly like a group of migrant workers just back from their hometowns.

Xi Shui looked at Zhou Zeqi. "We should get out too. I want to help carry some things."

His whole face was full of yearning to get outside.

Zhou Zeqi acted as if he hadn’t heard him. He turned off the engine, lazily unbuckled his seat belt, and leaned over from the driver’s seat. His gaze swept from Xi Shui’s forehead down to his lips like a bone-scraping blade.

Xi Shui was startled by Zhou Zeqi’s sudden attack and leaned back against the window. Even the toes inside his shoes curled up from nerves.

"Just now, at the earth god temple, I made a wish," Zhou Zeqi said, pressing Xi Shui against the window as he spoke, word by word. "Xiao Xi, guess what I wished for."

Zhou Zeqi’s eyes were especially beautiful up close, bright and dark, as if they could steal a person’s seven souls and six spirits the moment they looked at them.

Faced with Zhou Zeqi’s question, Xi Shui honestly shook his head. "I’m not guessing."

Zhou Zeqi’s unusually gentle tone and gaze plucked at Xi Shui’s heartstrings. The air-conditioning in the car was off. He was hot, and fine beads of sweat had already broken out on his forehead.

"If you say your wish out loud, it won’t come true," Xi Shui said, meeting Zhou Zeqi’s gaze as he explained in a tiny voice.

"…"

"Then ask me."

"I’m not asking."

Zhou Zeqi was very patient. His palm slid from Xi Shui’s shoulder up to his cheek.

Outside the stage, Xi Shui was completely different from the Xi Shui onstage. Onstage, he was an outstanding, exceptionally gifted ballet dancer.

Under the bright lights onstage, he could be Basilio, the devoted male lead in *Don Quixote*, braving hardships hand in hand with the one he loved until they finally received a grand wedding. He could also be Conrad, the pirate captain in *Le Corsaire*, righteous, brave, and loyal. He could even be Odette, the kind and beautiful princess in *Swan Lake*.

But offstage, in life, he was Xi Shui, simple, innocent, and warm-hearted.

Zhou Zeqi’s gaze was extremely oppressive. Xi Shui had nowhere to retreat. "I’ll ask, I’ll ask…" he begged for mercy, feeling like Zhou Zeqi’s eyes were about to swallow him whole.

"What is your wish?"

Zhou Zeqi slowly leaned in, close to Xi Shui’s ear, speaking almost as if he were holding Xi Shui’s earlobe in his mouth.

"I’m not telling you."

Xi Shui: "!"

Xi Shui got angry.

He tried to push Zhou Zeqi away, straining with all his might, flailing desperately in Zhou Zeqi’s arms.

Zhou Zeqi held him in place. Seeing him panting, before Xi Shui could say anything, Zhou Zeqi lowered his head and kissed him. Xi Shui’s lips were soft and cool. They had kissed several times already, but he was still very inexperienced, though he made up for it with obedience.

Once kissed, he stopped struggling.

In that cramped space, Xi Shui felt like he was about to suffocate. He opened his dazed eyes and caught a flash of satisfaction in Zhou Zeqi’s gaze.

It wasn’t until someone knocked on the window from outside that this long, deep kiss, one so intense Xi Shui felt like shouting for help, finally ended.

He had been kissed so hard he had no strength left, his eyes shimmering with tears.

He thought Zhou Zeqi was too fierce. By that he meant the kissing was fierce. Zhou Zeqi himself was still very, very good.

Zhou Zeqi pulled out a wet wipe, pressed it against Xi Shui’s forehead, and wiped the sweat off his face.

"Lift your head," Zhou Zeqi said hoarsely, his voice carrying an almost imperceptible commanding note.

Xi Shui tipped his face up.

As Zhou Zeqi wiped the sweat from his face and neck, Xi Shui felt that he still needed to praise him a little more.

"You’re amazing."

Zhou Zeqi’s movements paused slightly, his eyes growing darker.

After wiping Xi Shui’s face and neck clean, Zhou Zeqi pinched Xi Shui’s chin, leaned toward the corner of his lips, and sniffed. "Is durian good?"

Xi Shui nodded hurriedly.

Outside the car, a circle of people was passing around a barrel of mineral water that held more than ten liters. By the time it had gone around once, the water was almost gone.

Meng Kewen and Wu Fengyi exchanged a look, then looked toward Old Zhou’s car.

"Why hasn’t this car started rocking yet?"

"Rock it!"

Just after the two of them started heckling, Zhou Zeqi got out from the driver’s seat. He rested one arm on the car door. "Go move the stuff."

–

The weather station said there’d be a meteor shower, and since it was Saturday too, there were more than just their group of tourists up on the mountaintop. Besides the young people traveling together, there were also families with children. But Mount Jili was wide open. It was still very easy to find a quiet spot with hardly anyone around.

After they settled on a campsite, Xi Shui borrowed a hammer from Zhou Zeqi and went to help Wu Fengyi and Meng Kewen hammer in the tent pegs.

Lin Xiaojin came over to help too.

They drove the stakes into the ground at an angle toward the main body of the tent. As Xi Shui hammered with all his strength, he asked Wu Fengyi, "Wu Fengyi, don’t they have automatic ones?"

He used Wu Fengyi’s full name.

Wu Fengyi was a little moved, because aside from roll call, no one had called him by his full name for a long time.

"Automatic ones are just more convenient. They’re fine in a park, but in a place like this, manual ones are still more reliable. If it rains in the middle of the night, the manual kind can take a beating."

Meng Kewen stuck his neck out from the other side. "How could it possibly rain? I did my research."

Wu Fengyi clicked his tongue.

Then he turned back to talk to Xi Shui.

Xi Shui was an honest guy. He was easy to get along with.

"By the way, why do you like Old Zhou anyway?" Wu Fengyi asked Xi Shui to look toward the direction Zhou Zeqi was in with him. Zhou Zeqi was setting up the barbecue grill. He had changed into a tank top. A layer of glistening sweat covered the muscles of his arms, and with one hand he lifted that grill, which was as high as his thighs.

"Look at him. He’s so reckless," Wu Fengyi said, then brought the hammer down and drove the stake all the way into the ground. The rope lost its support and snapped back with a slap, instantly collapsing the tent.

Meng Kewen jumped up and cursed loudly. One look and he knew it was Wu Fengyi’s doing.

The few of them started setting up the tent again. Xi Shui kept hammering away as he said calmly, "You’re the reckless one. Qiqi is manly."

"Who’s Qiqi?"

Xi Shui looked up. "Old Zhou, of course."

"You gave him that name?"

Xi Shui lowered his head and answered, "I can call him whatever I want."

"Huh?" Wu Fengyi was a little surprised, because Xi Shui had always seemed like a harmless little swan. Turns out he had a bit of a personality too. "He doesn’t yell at you?"

If it were anyone else, calling Zhou Zeqi by some random name would be the same as not wanting to live.

"He likes me," Xi Shui said after thinking for a long time, only managing to squeeze out this answer.

"Even if he likes you, he can still yell at you."

"Wings, go light the fire," Zhou Zeqi said from behind them, cutting off the two of them as they murmured with their heads almost touching. "I’ll set up the tent."

"Got it." He tossed down the hammer and ran off cheerfully.

Zhou Zeqi crouched down beside Xi Shui.

The moment he arrived, Xi Shui felt the air around them immediately grow thin.

He caught the light grapefruit scent on Zhou Zeqi, mixed with the bitter smell of leaves and grass clinging to him, strikingly clear.

"What were you talking about?"

Xi Shui hammered a few times and answered a beat late. "Wu Fengyi said that if I call you by the wrong name, he’s worried you’ll scold me."

Actually, Wu Fengyi just wanted to stir things up.

But Xi Shui was worried Zhou Zeqi might go argue with Wu Fengyi over it, so he tried to smooth things over for him.

Zhou Zeqi let out a scoff. As if he didn’t know those guys.

"Relax, I won’t scold you."

"I know."

Zhou Zeqi’s hands stopped moving. He looked at Xi Shui. "How do you know?"

Xi Shui also stopped and lowered his eyes. "Intuition."

He was afraid Zhou Zeqi wouldn’t understand, so Xi Shui kindly added an explanation.

"Because if I liked you, I wouldn’t scold you either."

After Xi Shui said that, a long moment passed.

Zhou Zeqi slowly raised his eyes. He was holding the hammer, his fingers resting on the handle, his tone casual, the last syllable drawn out slow and long. "If you… liked me?"