It wasn't completely dark. Summer nights darkened late, and a hazy deep blue light veiled the sky outside the window.
Xi Shui could barely make out Zhou Zeqi's facial features.
The other's dark pupils, set deep in their sockets, stared unblinkingly at Xi Shui lying in his arms.
Xi Shui whispered, "Can I kiss you?"
Zhou Zeqi said nothing, his hands on Xi Shui's waist tightening slightly.
Seeing Zhou Zeqi's delayed response, Xi Shui climbed up a bit, clinging to his shoulders. He opened his mouth, "Ah~"
"I rinsed my mouth this afternoon," he thought Zhou Zeqi might be worried about bad breath, "My toothpaste is strawberry flavored, it smells nice."
Xi Shui was dying of anxiety.
"If you don't say anything, I'll take it as a yes."
Xi Shui felt his heart was about to leap out of his chest. He pressed one hand against his pounding heart, and the other on Zhou Zeqi's shoulder.
Slowly lowering his head, he pressed his lips against Zhou Zeqi's.
It was soft.
A bit cool.
What next?
Zhou Zeqi closed his eyes, then slowly opened them. He gripped Xi Shui's waist, his tongue peeking out from between his lips. Just as it touched Xi Shui's lips, Xi Shui jumped as if electrified, escaping from Zhou Zeqi's embrace.
Xi Shui stood far away from Zhou Zeqi, his face flushed red. He licked his lips, seeming to still taste Zhou Zeqi. His heart raced even faster. Looking at the expressionless Zhou Zeqi opposite him, he said hoarsely, "Too fast."
"What's too fast?"
"Weren't you the one who wanted to kiss?"
Xi Shui didn't know how to answer. Yes, he had wanted to kiss, thinking it wouldn't feel like much, but as soon as he touched Zhou Zeqi, he went weak all over, his body feeling like it had been electrified.
"Let's continue next time," Xi Shui said, walking towards the door. He bent down in the entryway to put on his canvas shoes, "I can't do it today, my heart is beating too fast, I might... be in danger."
Zhou Zeqi stood up, his tall figure moving silently on the carpet in his slippers.
Xi Shui was still muttering to himself.
"See you tomorrow."
"I'll kiss you again tomorrow."
An arm wrapped around his waist, that irresistible strength lifting Xi Shui up entirely. In the blink of an eye, he was sitting on the shoe cabinet.
Xi Shui couldn't believe it, "I weigh 120 jin!"
Zhou Zeqi snorted disdainfully, "Is 120 jin supposed to be impressive?"
"Let's talk," Zhou Zeqi leaned in, his nose touching Xi Shui's now slightly sweaty one, his gaze like a blade trying to peel Xi Shui open, "You said you want to date me, you like me?"
Xi Shui's fingers gripped the edge of the shoe cabinet, hesitating to answer, "What else?"
"You need to say, you like me."
"You like me."
"......"
Zhou Zeqi laughed in exasperation. He tugged at the corner of his mouth, tilting his head to catch Xi Shui's evasive gaze, "Xi Shui, I don't like beating around the bush. I originally wanted to see what you were up to, but now, I've changed my mind."
"What?"
While Xi Shui was still in a daze.
The other's kiss pounced on him.
The wolf-like ferocity made Xi Shui instinctively close his eyes. He clung to Zhou Zeqi's shoulder with one hand, his fingertips nearly digging into Zhou Zeqi's flesh, but the other seemed completely unmoved, as if he couldn't feel the pain.
Xi Shui gritted his teeth, keeping his lips sealed.
Zhou Zeqi pressed against Xi Shui's moist, soft lips, his gaze deep and intense.
He reached out to grip the back of Xi Shui's neck, applying slight pressure. Xi Shui opened his mouth in pain, and Zhou Zeqi's tongue slipped in.
Xi Shui melted into the kiss, encircled in Zhou Zeqi's arms, unable to dodge or escape.
"I've changed my mind, and I don't mind telling you," Zhou Zeqi released Xi Shui, cupping his face and kissing him again and again, "Whatever you want to do, I, Zhou Zeqi, will play along to the end."
Xi Shui was frightened by Zhou Zeqi's fierce tone.
By the time he came to his senses, he had already been picked up and placed in the hallway, the door slamming shut before his eyes.
!
Xi Shui was dazzled by the bright hallway lights and it took him a while to adjust to the current brightness. He lowered the hand shielding his eyes, thought for a moment, then reached out to knock on Zhou Zeqi's door a few times.
He had something to say.
But Zhou Zeqi didn't need to open the door.
"I just like you!" Xi Shui shouted.
He knew that you couldn't date just anyone, couldn't kiss just anyone. He only wanted to date Zhou Zeqi, only wanted to kiss Zhou Zeqi. Isn't that what liking someone means?
Xi Shui felt his analysis was spot on.
He gave himself a thumbs up, turning around happily to head back to his own place.
Just as he took out his key, he met the three pairs of eyes of Lin Xiaojin, Zhao Mengzi, and Li Bei peeking through their door crack.
Xi Shui was startled, "You guys, were leaving?"
Lin Xiaojin pushed open the door, "Oh, we were about to, but then we saw Lord Yama Zhou carry you out, so we decided to stay and watch till the end."
"......."
-
"How long has it been?"
"Who made the first move?"
"Look at how swollen your lips are from kissing."
Xi Shui sat on one sofa, with Lin Xiaojin and the other two sitting opposite him on another sofa, clearly in an "interrogation" posture.
"I remember you didn't even know him before."
"Did he force you?"
Xi Shui made eye signals to Lin Xiaojin, Lin Xiaojin should know, right? He should be able to guess why Xi Shui would be with Zhou Zeqi.
Lin Xiaojin: "Why are you rolling your eyes at me?"
"We just got together today, I made the first move," Xi Shui lowered his head shyly, "The kissing just happened."
Li Bei leaned back on the sofa, exchanging a glance with Zhao Mengzi before saying, "Zhou Zeqi isn't a good guy, how could you like him?"
Xi Shui placed his hands obediently on his knees, "He has a great body and he's very handsome."
"No, you're not that superficial." Xi Shui wasn't sensitive to appearances, looks probably wouldn't even make his top ten list of criteria for choosing a partner.
"Love at first sight," Xi Shui said.
That was somewhat understandable. With Zhou Zeqi's type, love at first sight wasn't unusual.
Although it was unusual for Xi Shui to fall in love at first sight, they could only comfort themselves with this explanation.
Zhao Mengzi sighed, "You two will have a lot of rivals in love. If they find out, they'll go crazy."
After chatting for a while, Xi Shui saw them to the door. Lin Xiaojin walked particularly slowly. As Zhao Mengzi and Li Bei went to wait for the elevator, Lin Xiaojin suddenly turned back and asked Xi Shui in a low voice, "You ran off to meet someone this afternoon, was it for Zhou Zeqi?"
"Yeah." Xi Shui nodded, Lin Xiaojin was quite smart.
"You said you didn't want the person Meng Kewen introduced, was it because you had your eye on Zhou Zeqi?"
Xi Shui nodded again.
Lin Xiaojin felt like his brain had been hit by a sledgehammer, "Are you crazy? You're playing with fire! If he finds out, he might tear you into eight pieces."
Xi Shui was much calmer than him.
"I'm not playing with him, I'm dating him."
"Dating means kissing."
Lin Xiaojin spat, "Nonsense."
"Don't worry," Xi Shui comforted Lin Xiaojin, "I think he's not bad, even if we break up, we can surely still be friends."
Lin Xiaojin looked at Xi Shui's innocent face and wore an expression of despair.
Meng Kewen had told him before.
Zhou Zeqi was not the type to get entangled in unclear relationships, he had never even had an ambiguous relationship. If he agreed to Xi Shui's pursuit, he must be serious. With someone like that, being friends after a breakup? Dream on.
"Lin Xiaojin, the elevator's here!" Li Bei came to call Lin Xiaojin.
"Forget it, it's fine, I'll always be by your side." Lin Xiaojin shouldered his bag and left with Li Bei and the others.
-
Xi Shui closed the door, thought for a moment, then ran to use the bathroom before weighing himself.
He held his breath, extremely nervous.
The numbers on the digital display flickered.
62kg!
Xi Shui weighed himself twice to make sure he wasn't seeing things, then happily ran off to brush his teeth and wash his face. Zhou Zeqi was his treasure, he loved Zhou Zeqi to death!
His hair was a mess from Zhou Zeqi's ruffling, his face bore finger marks, and his lips were red and swollen from the kissing.
How did it end up like this from just kissing?
After washing up, Xi Shui lay in bed, recording his first kiss with Zhou Zeqi in his notes app.
Xi Shui recalled the duration of the kiss, it was very short. Zhou Zeqi had been fierce then, it was to scold him.
So Xi Shui typed into his notes:
May 23, kissed for 10 seconds, calories burned: 0
What a rip-off!
Next time we must kiss for longer!