Chapter 55
Shi Ye felt as nervous as he had the first time he ever stepped onto a stage to perform a dance.
Before he could finish struggling with himself, his cheeks were suddenly puffed full of air.
Something pressed heavily against his lips.
Shi Ye’s fingers went rigid at once. His shoulders and neck locked tight, and his mind went completely blank.
Mom, he’s kissing me so hard.
Compared with Shi Ye’s inner turmoil, Xia Fengsheng looked completely normal, even a little disdainful.
Tsk. What kind of idiot would mistake mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for kissing?
Anyone who’d never seen kissing before should go watch a movie or something.
Xia Fengsheng had read the safety manual in advance. CPR, rescue breathing, and the rest of the emergency procedures—everything he did was fully up to standard.
He was giving the children a vivid, all-around demonstration of professional drowning rescue.
When his lips left Shi Ye’s, there was a soft pop. He had blown too hard, and their mouths had stuck together.
Shi Ye lay on the ground with his eyes shut, motionless, lips slightly parted, a white transparent soul drifting out of his mouth.
His fingertips clawed hard at the ground, as if he wanted to pry up a tile from the orphanage floor and take it home as a souvenir. One of the children noticed and cried out happily,
“Director Mom, big brother’s alive!”
One stone stirred a thousand waves. The children, who had been watching so seriously a moment ago, burst into motion like waves rolling over the sea, cheering:
“That’s great! That’s great! Big brother doesn’t have to die!”
“The doctor saved big brother! He doesn’t have to drown anymore!”
“Big brother still has his eyes closed. Let’s all help call him back to life!”
“Me too!”
The children swarmed over and stuffed Shi Ye’s drifting soul back into his mouth by force.
Xia Fengsheng stood up, long pale fingers straightening his tie.
Dressed in a white lab coat, black tie at his chest, his face was cold and detached, his black eyes without much emotion.
The lipstick smeared around his mouth from brushing Shi Ye’s lips during the rescue breathing made the corners of his mouth look longer, giving him the melancholy aura of a handsome clown from an American film.
Xia Fengsheng turned and strolled away, leaving Shi Ye alone to face the children’s enthusiasm.
His ears were filled with noise. Shi Ye had no sense that time had already passed and the emergency drill was over.
One child pried open his eyelids, which were dusted with purple eye shadow, and chirped by his face like a little bird,
“Big brother, are you okay? Why aren’t you talking?”
Shi Ye sat up with a smile, looking no different than usual. “I’m fine. I’m not drowning anymore.”
Everything had happened too fast just now. Shi Ye couldn’t even replay it in his head.
It had only been ordinary rescue breathing.
Supporting himself on his long legs, Shi Ye stood up and looked straight into Xia Fengsheng’s cold gaze.
The other man was dressed all in white, shirt and tie immaculate, elegant and refined, radiating an untouchable air of contempt. His eyes were as eerie and cold as a viper’s slit pupils, yet the lipstick on his lips made him look dangerously alluring.
Shi Ye’s head spun. The moment he thought about that lipstick on Xia Fengsheng’s lips having come from his own, his brain shut down completely. His thoughts stopped working, and blank spaces appeared in his memory.
Xia Fengsheng stared at him, took in his miserable state, and threw out two words.
“Idiot.”
There really was such a fool in this world, one who mistook rescue breathing for a kiss.
The two words landed on Shi Ye’s heart with just the right weight. He pressed his lips together, lowered his head with reddened ears, and somehow managed to look like someone who had been struck right in a sore spot.
He was getting off on being cursed.
Xia Fengsheng narrowed his eyes.
Even stupider now.
Back in high school, Shi Ye had always reacted stupidly to anything involving couple behavior. A hug or holding hands could excite him for ages. Though Xia Fengsheng’s own mindset had not been much better back then, seven years had passed. People ought to improve a little. Shi Ye had not. If anything, he was worse than before.
Had this guy really not dated at all in the past seven years?
Xia Fengsheng had not dated because he had too much else to do. After bombing the gaokao and falling to a second-tier university, he had studied day and night in a rented room to get into graduate school. Even after getting in, he still had no time to spare on romance.
There had been too much for a newcomer like him to learn in the world of money and status—etiquette, conversation, and so on. And on top of that, he worked under Yang Liwan as a beast of burden from morning to night. He simply had no time of his own.
Someone with Shi Ye’s looks ought to have had a lover for every strand of hair on his head.
Xia Fengsheng did not care, but if Shi Ye had dated before, all the better. If he could dig something up, it would make good material for a breakup.
Because Shi Ye had been playing the drowning victim, his clothes were dripping wet. After lying on the ground, the soaked fabric had picked up dust and dirt and was a total mess.
Since it was winter and they did not want him catching a chill, the dean said, “Mr. Shi, go change your clothes quickly.”
Shi Ye glanced at Xia Fengsheng. “Okay.”
Xia Fengsheng slanted his long eyes at him, and Shi Ye strode away on his long legs.
A huge patch of his clothes was wet, yet Shi Ye felt hot all over and unbearably itchy. The heat in his ears refused to go down. Back in the dorm, he changed into a white T-shirt, stood by the window for a while, then opened the bathroom door and went inside.
The drowning demonstration was only one part of the safety drills. After nearly forty minutes of drills, the demonstration section was almost finished.
The dean told everyone there would be a group photo at the end, and all the volunteers should change into the orphanage’s uniform shirts and take a commemorative photo with the children.
Before coming, the dean had said custom orphanage shirts would be prepared, and everyone had submitted their sizes by phone.
The volunteers gathered at the dean’s office one by one to collect their shirts.
Qin Buming dug around in the pile until he found the one with his name on it. Then, remembering something, he said to Xia Fengsheng, who was still looking for his,
“Sheng’er, Shi Ye still hasn’t come back from changing. Let’s help him take his too.”
Xia Fengsheng lowered his eyes and picked up the clothing bag marked Mr. Shi from the table.
After collecting their uniforms, everyone went back to their dorms to change. Once Xia Fengsheng had changed into his own, he took Shi Ye’s clothes and went to Shi Ye’s room.
He did not knock.
The breakup plan had not been put into action in a while. Disrespecting personal privacy would definitely lower someone’s opinion of him.
Tap… tap…
The crisp sound of leather shoes rang into the room.
Inside the bathroom, Shi Ye, with the hem of his shirt clenched between his teeth, frowned in discomfort. The moment he heard the sound, his whole body tensed, and he sucked in a breath instinctively.
Who had come into his room without knocking?
“Where are you?”
Xia Fengsheng’s voice rang out at the worst possible moment. A numb thrill shot through Shi Ye’s lower belly, veins standing out across his tight waist and abdominal muscles.
“In the bathroom?”
Through the frosted glass of the bathroom door, a vague human silhouette could be seen.
Shi Ye’s breathing shook.
“I’m leaving your clothes on the bed. Remember to change.”
With that, the silhouette left, and the sound of footsteps receded farther and farther away.
Shi Ye was drenched in sweat, his throat dry and hoarse. The sound of Xia Fengsheng’s brief appearance sent such pleasure through him that his dark pupils rolled upward.
“…ha… ha…”
“Pop.”
The sound of lips separating.
The blank part of his memory suddenly replayed itself in his mind.
More than ten minutes later, the volunteers, now all in uniform, gathered in front of the orphanage building.
Today was the last day of the event. Once the photo was taken and the time with the children ended, that would be it.
Shi Ye had deliberately not washed off the makeup the children had put on him. Even with his face painted like a mess of flowers, his features were still far too striking.
The photographer called loudly to the crowd, “Everyone stand next to the friend you like best!”
People immediately started shifting around to find their places. Xia Fengsheng, wearing a pink orphanage shirt, stood in a sea of other pink shirts, looking down at the fabric on himself with a complicated expression. There were very few clothes in his wardrobe that were this bright.
“Big brother.”
A little girl who looked around five years old tugged at Xia Fengsheng’s shirt.
Xia Fengsheng lowered his gaze to look at her. “Uncle.”
The girl had two little horn braids and immediately corrected herself crisply, “Uncle!”
Then, wringing her little hands nervously, she asked, “Uncle, can you hold me for the picture?”
“Yes.”
Xia Fengsheng answered with those two words in a flat voice, then crouched down so the girl could put her arms around his neck.
“Are you holding on tight?” The moment the child tumbled into his arms, his voice softened a lot.
The little girl nodded.
Using the crook of his arm to support her, Xia Fengsheng stood up.
“Wow!” The little girl’s round eyes shone bright as she clapped happily. “Uncle, I’m flying!”
Xia Fengsheng looked at the child in his arms, a faint smile appearing on his face.
“Uncle, will you come again next time?”
Xia Fengsheng paused. “…Maybe.”
If he was not too busy with work.
He did not really know how to interact with children, and over the past two days he had not spent much time with them. This little girl was the first one to come looking for him.
He looked at her horn braids. “Do you want me to come?”
The little girl nodded.
Xia Fengsheng said, “All right. At this time next year, I’ll come again.”
The little girl, full of innocent joy, held out her finger. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
.
Back home after returning from the orphanage, Shi Ye dropped himself onto the sofa. Big Truck Bu Bai drove over and sniffed at the top of his head.
Human. Dead?
Shi Ye lay there without moving.
February 23, 2025: Shi Ye’s first kiss. Deceased.
After confirming that he still carried the scent of a living person and had not actually died, King Bu Bai hopped off the sofa and trotted away to eat, not even looking back.
The New Year was almost here. A few days ago Ding Qizhen had messaged saying he would be coming back to the country, though he was not sure on which day. He might come by to see him.
Shi Ye slid off the sofa like a puddle of mud, dragged himself into the dressing room to change clothes, then drifted into the study, came back out carrying a notebook, and returned to the living room.
On the cover of the notebook were the words: Love Battle Plan.
Inside was a whole list of things he planned to do now that he and Xia Fengsheng were back together.
Flipping it open, he saw that almost everything in the list had already been checked off.
Once every item in the notebook was completed, that would be the moment he broke up with Xia Fengsheng.
Shi Ye spun a pencil in his hand as he turned the pages.
Eat together. Walk together. Travel together. Go abroad together. Watch the sea together. Eat the same piece of food. Receive Xia Fengsheng’s concern…
More and more things had been completed.
Shi Ye ticked off sleep together and be invited to bathe together. Then, when the pencil hovered over the line for kissing, he hesitated for several seconds.
He still could not quite remember what it had felt like when Xia Fengsheng gave him rescue breaths. Xia Fengsheng’s lips against his had seemed almost like a dream.
So unreal it was as if it had never happened.
Shi Ye rubbed his ears and, using pure imagination, tried to picture his lips pressed to Xia Fengsheng’s.
How was that not kissing? Their mouths had touched!
He put a check mark after it.
After reviewing everything, he found that nearly the entire notebook had already been completed. Only one thing remained: hearing Xia Fengsheng say that he loved him.
Shi Ye closed the notebook.
At that moment, the doorbell rang.
King Bu Bai leapt onto the tall decorative pillar by the entrance, preparing to inspect which peasant had come to pay tribute.
Shi Ye went to open the door. The moment it swung open, Ding Qizhen stood there in the hallway with his suitcase, saying hi.
“I’m back!”
Before he could even enter, the cat-truck launched itself through the air and landed on top of his suitcase with a hefty thump.
Ding Qizhen: House… house-flying cat!
Shi Ye found him a pair of slippers. Ding Qizhen put them on, wheeled his suitcase inside with Bu Bai perched atop it, and acted so relaxed he might as well have been returning to his own home.
He saw the notebook on the coffee table, with a bunch of marker pens beside it.
Puzzled, he asked, “What are you doing?”
Since when was Shi Ye writing a diary?
Shi Ye sat down on the carpet, his long legs folded beneath him. Ding Qizhen already knew about the plan.
“Checking off the plan.”
“What plan?” Ding Qizhen was completely lost. “What secretive thing is this?”
Shi Ye said, “The plan for breaking up with Xia Fengsheng.”
Ding Qizhen blinked. Once his brain processed the information, his mouth opened wide in exaggerated shock. “Wait, you’re serious?”
He had thought Shi Ye was only talking big. He thought once Shi Ye and Xia Fengsheng got back together, he would never break up with him again. He had not expected the business of toying with Xia Fengsheng’s feelings to be real—let alone detailed out into a plan.
Ding Qizhen asked, “So when are you breaking up with my Brother Xia?”
Shi Ye rolled the pen between his fingers. “After he says he loves me.”
Ding Qizhen said, “You’re going to wait for Brother Xia to say he loves you, and then you’ll dump him?”
Shi Ye nodded. “That’s right.”
At this moment Ding Qizhen’s brain was unusually sharp. “And what if he really agrees to break up? Won’t you fall apart?”
Shi Ye: ……
Stubborn to the end, he said, “I’m the one proposing the breakup. Why would I fall apart?”
Ding Qizhen looked at him with indescribable complexity.
Why? Do you seriously have no idea?
Do you not know what kind of person you are?!
If there was anyone in the world who understood Shi Ye better than he did, aside from Shi Ye’s parents, there was no one else.
Although he had not seen them together often since Shi Ye and Xia Fengsheng got back together, every time he did, it was obvious that Shi Ye was genuinely happy whenever Xia Fengsheng was around.
Even though Brother Xia was always doing ridiculous things, Shi Ye never seemed embarrassed. He just kept taking photos and videos, recording everything.
Ding Qizhen did not know exactly how their relationship stood at the moment, but he was sure of one thing: if Shi Ye ever broke up with Xia Fengsheng, he would regret it.
He could just wait and see later if he didn’t believe it.
With New Year drawing near, every year Shi Ye would go up to the temple in the hills outside Beijing to ask for incense to bring home to his mother.
This year was no exception.
Ding Qizhen went with him.
They met up early in the morning. As soon as he dropped into the passenger seat, Ding Qizhen said excitedly, “Hey, did you see it?”
Shi Ye steered with one hand. “See what?”
Ding Qizhen said, “That photo set I took of you went viral overseas. I was scrolling all night yesterday and you actually hadn’t even looked.”
“And your fans moved the overseas reactions back onto domestic social media and made posts about it. Right now, your pictures are everywhere online.”
It was that exact set of spicy car photos—the ones Ding Qizhen had nearly broken his wrist taking, snapping more than two hundred shots.
Recently someone had reposted them overseas, and they fit foreign tastes so perfectly that they blew up hard.
Shi Ye had been too busy lately to get online much. Viral was viral. It did not affect him.
After driving two hours, they reached a service area. Ding Qizhen went to the restroom, while Shi Ye sat in the car and messaged Xia Fengsheng.
Ever since coming back from the orphanage, Xia Fengsheng had gotten busy with work. They had not seen each other for days, and when Shi Ye messaged him, the replies came slowly. Xia Fengsheng also rarely took the initiative to message him first.
Still, Shi Ye sent messages every day as usual.
What are you doing?
Going to the temple today to ask for incense.
It’s been a few days. Did you miss me?
On the other side, Xia Fengsheng had just woken up in the inn at the foot of the mountain and was leaning against the headboard replying.
No.
Then, seeing that Shi Ye was going to a temple too, he asked which one.
He and Qin Buming’s group were currently staying at a little inn at the foot of the mountain outside Beijing.
New year, new atmosphere. In hopes of peace and smooth luck for the coming year, Qin Buming had suggested they go to the temple on the mountain to pray and welcome the new year with a good omen, so that work would go smoothly and fortune would pour in.
Since it concerned wealth, no one in the studio dared neglect it. After packing up, they all piled into a Wuling Hongguang and set off.
By the time they arrived, it was already five in the afternoon. Since they still had to hike the mountain, they spent the night at the inn at the base to gather their strength for the climb the next morning.
Shi Ye sent back the temple’s name.
Xia Fengsheng realized it was the same one.
If even someone with Shi Ye’s family background went to this temple for incense and prayer, then this temple was no ordinary temple.
Xia Fengsheng replied:
I’m going too. Meet at the mountain entrance.
Shi Ye had gone there many times before and knew the paths once they got up the mountain. Xia Fengsheng had just arranged a guide for the team.
Once the guide situation was settled, Xia Fengsheng got up, washed up, and changed clothes.
After everyone had dressed, they left the little inn and headed toward the mountain gate.
Since New Year was close, there were lots of people going to the temple. At the inn entrance, quite a few older men and women stood in line handing out little ad flyers. There were all kinds of them, and Xia Fengsheng even spotted the familiar proctology cards.
Too many people were trying to stuff flyers into their hands, so Xia Fengsheng casually accepted a few and shoved them into his pocket, just to get the crowd to let him pass.
Qin Buming and the others ended up with piles of them too.
At the mountain entrance, Xia Fengsheng’s group waited for Shi Ye and Ding Qizhen to arrive.
Zheng Xing said, “We’re definitely going to get thirsty on the way up. Let’s buy some water.”
There was a little convenience stall at the entrance selling basic snacks and drinks.
Everyone agreed. They stood at the window and told the granny inside what they wanted.
They bought a few bottles of sports drinks and got some for Shi Ye and Ding Qizhen too. When it came time to pay, they learned that this stall only took cash.
People hardly used cash anymore, so they all started rummaging through their pockets to see if they could scrape enough together. Xia Fengsheng pulled out a few bills and handed them over.
Along with the money, he also fished out the little ad cards that had just been forcibly stuffed into his hand.
His gaze froze on the card.
PASSIONATE HOST
TEN TIMES A NIGHT
Shi Ye arrived just in time to see Xia Fengsheng standing in front of the little stall, staring at his own photo.
Shi Ye: “:D”
So he said he hadn’t missed him, but behind the scenes he’d secretly printed out his photo and was holding it in his hand to look at.
Xia Fengsheng was hopelessly in love with him!
A faint smile curled at Shi Ye’s lips.
Ding Qizhen, being naturally sociable, waved at them. “We’re here!”
The two of them walked toward the group, and only then did Shi Ye clearly see the ad card in Xia Fengsheng’s hand.
The photo on the little card was his viral-internationally car-photo set.
Shi Ye: ……
Ding Qizhen leaned over to look too.
Holy shit!
What was this situation?
Seeing the card, Shi Ye’s brain shut down. He had thought Xia Fengsheng was holding one of his photos. Instead it was an erotic-services advertisement.
Staring at the picture of himself on the card, Shi Ye’s vision went black.
Who did this?
Ding Qizhen’s scalp went numb. How had it turned into passionate host? He gave a strained smile and tried to comfort him.
“I told you, didn’t I? You really are everywhere, hahaha.”
Shi Ye hurriedly snatched the little card away so no one else could keep looking at it.
Xia Fengsheng patted him on the shoulder in consolation. “It’s okay. I know it’s fake.”
Shi Ye looked up, touched.
Ten times a night? He can’t even get it up, and they’re claiming ten times a night.
Suppressing the mocking smile on his face, Xia Fengsheng politely pointed at the card and said, “Every word on it is fake. You can’t fool me.”
Shi Ye: ……
