Chapter 35
As the music rose into its climax, Xia Fengsheng and Qin Buming swung their waists and hips even harder, determined not to let the viewers’ floral fuzzy pajama pants be bought in vain.
In order to leave a good impression on the people they wanted to connect with in the world of fame and gain, Xia Fengsheng and Qin Buming might have been overworked beasts of burden from dawn to midnight, but they never once neglected body management. No matter what chair they sat in, their waists stayed straight and never slouched. They even squeezed out time to exercise and work out, because only then did formalwear look good.
After a long time of that, even fuzzy pajama pants could not hide a good figure.
Rockets and cruise ships began launching across the livestream. Flowers and fireworks became one color.
Some newly arrived viewers said:
“Because of their faces and bodies, I didn’t even notice what they were wearing on the bottom half.”
“The palace hasn’t seen the Astonishing Swan Dance in ages [blushing cat face].”
“Are you two new here? How come I’ve never seen you before [fat orange cat lying on its side]?”
“AAAAAAAHHHH, so much force, both of them are so forceful!”
“So handsome! So handsome! It’s just a pity one of them already has a boyfriend.”
“The one dancing in front—yes, you—right now the most important thing is to drink enough Chinese medicine to straighten yourself out. The one dancing behind him, please keep it up. Being straight is more important than anything.”
“I just realized the location on their account says Jing University!”
The moment one viewer said it, everyone rushed to check the account details.
“Holy shit, they really are from Jing University—and postgrads too!”
“Mom, you may not believe me, but I just watched the top scorer dance!”
“The top scorer really rushed to dance for us.”
“No wonder they’re smart—they know exactly what people like to watch. It’d be even better if they danced without clothes.”
“If not for you two, who else at Jing University would dance for me?”
“Handsome and highly educated—I’m in love, I’m in love!!!”
“Husband! The other one’s husband too!”
“Am I the only one who noticed S standing stupidly at the door? I’m dying.”
On screen, Shi Ye was standing at the doorway, staring dumbfounded at Xia Fengsheng’s dancing back as if he were meeting him for the first time.
The comments flew:
“Forget husband—your husband’s standing right there at the door.”
“Holy shit, his boyfriend is also ninety-nine percent a rare item.”
“All three of them are so handsome.”
When the music stopped, Xia Fengsheng and Qin Buming’s performance ended. The dance was over, and they discovered that a lot of viewers had sent gifts. Their startup funds had been earned, and the big spenders in the livestream who had bought the pants were happy too.
Xia Fengsheng sat down in his chair and said to the viewers, “We’re ending the stream in another five minutes.”
The comments instantly wailed:
“AAAAAAAHHHHHH why, why!”
“Noooo [tabby cat screaming at the sky]”
“Why end the stream? I haven’t seen enough yet.”
After they finished dancing, Shi Ye walked in from the doorway.
He came over to Xia Fengsheng and after a long pause finally puffed up his mouth and asked, “Since when were you this good at dancing?”
How had he never known Xia Fengsheng could dance?
Xia Fengsheng tilted his head back. “I only learned just now. Was it good?”
This was the first time Xia Fengsheng had learned dancing so successfully—fast and well.
Still not fully satisfied, he stood up and swayed twice more.
Watching the way Xia Fengsheng’s waist moved beneath the shirt, Shi Ye lowered his head stiffly, expression unnatural, scratched his ear, and turned sideways to block the camera.
“AAAAAHHH, you’re blocking everything.”
“Move, move, wuwuwuwu.”
“S, I like your wife. Remember to close your bedroom door.”
Only when Xia Fengsheng stopped dancing did Shi Ye move aside again. He stood beside Xia Fengsheng, one long arm draped over the back of the chair, making it look as if he were loosely encircling him from behind.
Xia Fengsheng looked at the screen.
Shi Ye looked at Xia Fengsheng.
How come the shirt buttons were undone too?
Before starting the dance, Xia Fengsheng had undone the top two buttons of his shirt. From where Shi Ye stood above and behind, he could see Xia Fengsheng’s collarbones and a small patch of chest.
Suddenly, Xia Fengsheng bent forward.
The fabric that had been lying flat against his chest opened with a hollow gap.
Shi Ye was caught off guard, caught one look, and then his face flushed scarlet as he instantly turned away.
Back in high school, he had never seen Xia Fengsheng’s body. For a moment, he felt dizzy and faint. The moment he closed his eyes, all he could see was what was on Xia Fengsheng’s chest…
“S, are you in heat?”
“You said you weren’t clingy in relationships, but outside you’re willing to act like a dog for him.”
“Look at the way S is looking at the streamer, hahahahahaha, I’m dying. Wants to look but doesn’t dare.”
“S, what happened to you? Why are you blushing again?”
“[So did they do shameful things later.jpg]”
“Feels like S is kind of anxious.”
“Are the two of them sleeping tonight at all?”
“Replying to the one above: they sure are getting some action.”
When the five minutes were up, Xia Fengsheng prepared to end the stream by hand.
“Bye, everyone.”
The comments instantly exploded:
“Wait!!!!”
“No!!!!”
“Let me ask just one last question, okay?!”
“Just one, just one, just one!”
The comments were desperate, pitifully trying to keep him there. One question wouldn’t waste much time, and besides, the account asking the question had bought a pair of his fuzzy pajama pants.
Fulfilling the customer’s wish was part of Xia Fengsheng’s professional ethics. They had spent money—what was one little question?
So Xia Fengsheng replied, “What question?”
The account that had placed the order asked: “In your relationship with S, who chased who? [curious face]”
“Good question, I want to know too!”
“S doesn’t seem like the type to chase someone.”
“I think so too, but when I look at how he acts around the streamer, he’s totally throwing himself at him.”
“Streamer, hurry up and tell us.”
The comments seemed extremely interested in his relationship with Shi Ye. Since he was currently playing the amnesia persona, logically he shouldn’t be able to answer this himself.
So he turned his head and asked Shi Ye, “Between the two of us, who chased who?”
Shi Ye opened his mouth immediately. “You chased me.”
The comments went wild:
“Eiiiii—lying~~~”
“Don’t believe it at all.”
“If I hadn’t seen your behavior just now, I might’ve believed streamer was the one who chased you, but…”
“Hahahahahahaha, streamer chased you? S, I’m dying.”
“Seeing that everyone else doesn’t believe it makes me feel safe.”
Shi Ye looked at the mocking comments, disbelief all over his face, his peach-blossom eyes widening.
“It really was him chasing me!”
“He liked me to death. I didn’t agree, and he forced me into love, okay?!”
The comments:
“Hahahahahahaha, forced-love okay [loopy sarcastic face].”
“Don’t believe it, don’t believe it, bleh bleh bleh bleh.”
“Hahahahahahaha, no, I can’t, I’m dying laughing. S, my stomach hurts from laughing.”
“Liked me to death, hahahahahaha, why is that so funny?”
Shi Ye’s face grew hot. He closed his eyes with a look of utter speechlessness.
Don’t open your eyes, maybe it’s all just an illusion~
Why didn’t any of them believe him?!
What he said was the truth. Even if the King of Heaven himself came down today, it would still have been Xia Fengsheng who chased him first.
At the beginning, he had refused. Xia Fengsheng was the one who had forced love on him, liked him so much he had to be together with him.
And all of that began with Ding Qizhen’s dogshit grades back in high school.
“Dad! My living dad!” Ding Qizhen knelt on top of Shi Ye’s shoes and cried to the heavens, like Wang Baochuan digging wild vegetables for eighteen years. “This time you absolutely have to help me!”
“If you don’t help me, we’re really going to be torn apart!”
It was Friday morning. Shi Ye had only just entered the classroom when he was greeted by Ding Qizhen’s ghastly howling. The moment Ding Qizhen saw him, he clung to him as if he’d seen a life-saving straw.
Shi Ye frowned slightly. “What happened?”
Looking as if the sky had collapsed, Ding Qizhen spilled everything. “Yesterday my mom suddenly called and said that if my total score in this monthly exam doesn’t go past 500, she’s sending me abroad.”
Ding Qizhen wailed miserably, “Is abroad even a place humans are supposed to live?! The streets are full of homeless people and teenagers. If they beat me and I call the police, the police will probably just say I’m resistant to being hit. I don’t dare go, aaaaaah!”
On top of that, everything abroad would be unfamiliar. His spoken English was still stuck at how are you, I’m fine thank you and you.
If he got beaten, was he supposed to tell the criminal good good?
Some states overseas had even legalized drugs. The more Ding Qizhen thought about it, the more frightened he became. And with his family’s money, there would definitely be plenty of people trying to lead him astray.
He simply couldn’t imagine how he was supposed to live alone abroad.
And he wasn’t even an adult yet.
Even though in their circles, studying abroad was as common as dirt, Ding Qizhen didn’t want it.
His mom was too cruel. She actually wanted to throw him overseas. Wasn’t she afraid he’d come back ruined?
Ding Qizhen didn’t want to live abroad. Even staying in this economically backward little county town was better than living alone overseas. But as for getting over 500 on the next monthly exam—that was simply impossible too.
Even if he studied himself half to death, he usually only managed 470 or 480. Right now there were two huge black circles under his eyes. He had obviously slept terribly.
Looking at him crying with snot and tears all over his face, Shi Ye asked, “How do you want me to help? Tutor you?”
Ding Qizhen lifted his head. “Help me cheat.”
Shi Ye froze. “Cheat?”
Shi Ye had good grades. If he would just help him then, Ding Qizhen would definitely make it past 500. Once the grades were out, he’d be able to stay safely in China.
Ding Qizhen hugged his knees. “Shi Ye! I’ve followed you since we were little! Can you really bear to watch me get thrown abroad?”
The answer was obviously no.
The two had been friends since childhood. When their teacher returned to the seaside city to recuperate from illness, Shi Ye followed the teacher there, and Ding Qizhen didn’t hesitate for a second to follow too. He had been part of Shi Ye’s life as naturally as a shadow.
And Shi Ye knew Ding Qizhen was timid, and had no ability to live alone overseas right now. There was no way he could just leave him to it.
Even though cheating was wrong, Shi Ye couldn’t simply stand by and do nothing.
Everyone had their own principles and bottom lines, but when it came to friends, people would always choose favoritism and tolerance.
Shi Ye was no exception.
“I’ll help you,” Shi Ye said.
Ding Qizhen lifted his head. “Really?”
He had known Shi Ye would definitely help him, but hearing it with his own ears still made him moved.
Shi Ye wasn’t the kind of person who’d cheat. Helping him like this had to put him in a difficult position, and yet he’d answered without hesitation. Ding Qizhen’s nose felt a little sour.
“Living dad, I swear it’s just this once. After this I’ll definitely study hard. If I really still can’t do it, I’ll pack my bags myself and go abroad!”
To immediately express his thanks, Ding Qizhen dragged Shi Ye toward the school store. But the moment they stepped out of the classroom, they saw an upright figure carrying a bucket.
Ding Qizhen recognized him at a glance. “That’s Xia Fengsheng.”
Shi Ye, who had been looking down at his phone, immediately raised his head.
In the corridor ahead, a pale hand with veins standing out was carrying a grey-blue bucket full of water.
Shi Ye asked Ding Qizhen, “You know him?”
Ding Qizhen said, “How could I not? He’s gone up on stage to read self-criticism enough times that anyone would know him.”
Shi Ye cut him off. “I mean, have you actually spoken to him?”
Ding Qizhen scratched the back of his head. “Well… no.”
Xia Fengsheng carried the bucket to the end of the corridor, set it down, and soaked a mop in it, starting to mop the floor.
Shi Ye frowned.
Why was he always cleaning? Every time Shi Ye saw him at school, he was doing class duty.
Ding Qizhen explained, “I think he got punished to mop the corridor for two weeks because of a fight.”
Shi Ye asked, “Doesn’t the school have cleaners?”
“Of course it does. But this is punishment.”
Looking at the abrasion on the pale cheek of the boy who had once rummaged through trash to help an old woman find recyclables, Shi Ye believed he would never start a fight for no reason.
If he’d fought, it had to be because someone provoked him. If someone hit him, was he not allowed to hit back?
If he’d been provoked, then why was he the one being punished?
What exactly was he being punished for?
They might as well punish him by making him eat two packs of Chips Ahoy.
Shi Ye was popular—handsome, rich, and generous. The moment he stepped out of the classroom, people came up to greet him.
“Brother Shi, morning. What are you looking at?”
The classmate followed his gaze.
Holy shit, it was Xia Fengsheng.
No one knew why Shi Ye would be curious about Xia Fengsheng, but the classmate lowered his voice and said, “Brother Shi, I think you should stay away from Xia Fengsheng.”
He spoke very softly, afraid Xia Fengsheng, who was not far away doing cleaning duty, might overhear.
Shi Ye’s brows knotted together. “Why?”
He genuinely didn’t understand why person after person seemed to have issues with Xia Fengsheng. He hadn’t done anything wrong.
Shi Ye’s impression of Xia Fengsheng had always remained fixed on that moonlit night when he met the ragpicker—the boy in the thin shirt, white as the moon itself.
At the age when a teenager’s pride was strongest, he hadn’t cared about anyone’s gaze as he dug through foul-smelling trash bins.
He hadn’t rejected the ragpicker no one wanted to get close to, nor been disgusted when the old woman’s dirty hand brushed against him. All he saw was that she was old and that life wasn’t easy for her.
Because she had to stand on tiptoe to dig in the trash, he had kicked the bin over for her.
“That Xia Fengsheng is eerie. You can tell just from his face—sinister-looking. And his temper’s bad, he holds grudges, and once he decides he wants something, he’ll do absolutely anything to get it. He’s ruthless.”
Although someone like Shi Ye, who’d come from a big city and had such a powerful background, didn’t really need to be afraid.
Still, the classmate tossed out the warning anyway, hoping Shi Ye would remember the kindness of it.
“Who said that?”
The classmate froze. “Huh?”
Shi Ye’s voice sank. “Who said he looks eerie? He’s clearly that good-looking.”
The classmate stammered, “Uh… everyone says…”
Shi Ye paid him no attention.
“Don’t say that kind of thing to me again.”
.
The monthly exam came a few days later, on Monday.
Thanks to getting Shi Ye’s help, Ding Qizhen walked out of the exam hall full of joy. Knowing he didn’t have to go abroad anymore, his whole body felt light.
Ding Qizhen said, “Shi Ye, I’m treating you to dinner tonight.”
The two of them were packing up their schoolbags in the classroom.
Shi Ye said, “Not going. I’ve got class tonight.”
“Dance class?” Ding Qizhen asked. “Why did your teacher suddenly add an evening class?”
“No idea. Probably had a sudden burst of inspiration.” Shi Ye adjusted his bag. “You head off first.”
Tonight Ding Qizhen’s parents were coming over and planned to stay one or two days with him before leaving again.
Ding Qizhen said, “Alright.”
After he left, Shi Ye didn’t immediately walk out of the classroom. Instead, he stayed to answer messages on his phone.
They were from his parents.
Even though they lived far apart, his parents messaged him every single day. Even if they couldn’t see him, they never missed out on his life. And Shi Ye never ignored their messages either. Their relationship was very good.
I love you, even if we are separated by thousands of miles.
When it came to raising Shi Ye, his parents had managed the perfect balance of knowing when to let go.
Children always had to grow up eventually.
When Shi Ye wanted to follow his teacher back to the little seaside city, it was his own decision, and his parents hadn’t opposed it.
On the contrary, they felt he had done credit to the way they raised him—he had grown into a child with feelings and gratitude.
After replying to his parents, Shi Ye slung his schoolbag over one shoulder and walked out of the classroom.
Splash—
The familiar sound of water.
In the corridor pierced by sunset, Xia Fengsheng stood under the window mopping the floor.
Why did he still have to mop after school too?
Shi Ye was unhappy.
No idea how long he’d been at it, but he looked like he’d already finished the whole floor.
Xia Fengsheng put down the mop and lifted the bucket full of dirty water, heading toward the washroom. The cloudy grey water looked wrong paired with his pale fingers.
Shi Ye strode over.
He didn’t even know why he was going back. By the time he came to his senses, he was already standing face-to-face with Xia Fengsheng.
Xia Fengsheng lifted his eyes and looked at him sideways.
Shi Ye swallowed.
Then he seemed to become a robot. If Xia Fengsheng moved left, he moved left. If Xia Fengsheng moved right, he moved right.
Suspicion appeared in Xia Fengsheng’s eyes.
Shi Ye hurriedly tried to explain. “I… um…”
He couldn’t get the words out. His tongue felt knotted, and looking at Xia Fengsheng’s face left him unable to say a single coherent thing.
Frustrated and red-faced, Shi Ye simply bent down and snatched the bucket out of Xia Fengsheng’s hand.
“I’ll help you.”
Then he carried it off toward the washroom in big strides.
Shi Ye had never really done any chores before. Once he dumped out the water in the bucket, he thought that was the end of it.
Who knew Xia Fengsheng would pick the bucket back up and carry it under the faucet, clearly planning to rinse it clean.
So it still had to be washed too.
Shi Ye hurriedly rolled up his sleeves. “I’ll do it.”
As he reached for the bucket handle, he accidentally brushed Xia Fengsheng’s hand.
It was still just as cool as last time.
Xia Fengsheng looked at him.
Shi Ye avoided his gaze, took the bucket away, and began rinsing it.
Orange-gold sunset poured in, and the washroom filled with the rushing sound of water.
“Shi Ye.”
Shi Ye froze.
“Are you talking to me?”
This was the first time Xia Fengsheng had ever spoken to him on his own initiative.
Xia Fengsheng said, “Yes, you.”
A smile appeared on Shi Ye’s face, along with a trace of shyness. “You know my name?”
He’d thought Xia Fengsheng didn’t know.
Xia Fengsheng looked at him with those eyes. “You’re famous.”
This was the first real back-and-forth conversation between them, and he hadn’t expected Xia Fengsheng to know his name already.
So while he had been secretly paying attention to Xia Fengsheng, Xia Fengsheng had also secretly been paying attention to him.
Shi Ye felt a little happy.
Then the next second—
in a clear voice that rang through the washroom, Xia Fengsheng said, “Let’s get together.”
Shi Ye froze. “Huh?”
Xia Fengsheng’s still-youthful face remained expressionless as he repeated, “I said let’s get together.”
Shi Ye stood there petrified, not even reacting when the bucket filled back up with water.
Get together.
Did he mean… start dating him?
Shi Ye hurried to explain. “I think you’ve misunderstood. I’m not gay.”
He was refusing.
He had never liked boys, and there was even less chance of him dating one.
He didn’t discriminate against gay people. It was normal enough. Some people were born liking women; others were born liking men. It was nothing more than human instinct.
But he wasn’t gay, and he wasn’t going to date a boy.
The request in front of him was absurd and rude.
Even if he did have a favorable impression of Xia Fengsheng and thought he was special, that was only because he wanted to be friends with him.
But Xia Fengsheng didn’t give him a chance to refuse.
At Shi Ye’s rejection, only his lashes trembled briefly, and his blood-red lips pressed together once.
Shi Ye’s refusal did nothing to change his mind. A snakelike gleam rose in those dark black eyes.
“If you don’t get together with me, I’ll expose the fact that you helped your friend cheat.”
Those words from the classmate earlier suddenly echoed back in his head:
“To achieve what he wants, he’ll use any means necessary.”
Shi Ye stood frozen in place, struck as if by a bolt from a clear sky.
