In the middle of the night, Xi Shui got up and moved Zhou Zeqi's basin from his balcony to Zhou Zeqi's balcony next door. He sent a WeChat message to remind Zhou Zeqi.
He wasn't sure if Zhou Zeqi had seen it.
Just before 5 AM, a heavy downpour began. Huge raindrops pelted down, sounding like stones. With the curtains drawn, Xi Shui hazily opened his eyes. The pitter-patter of rain at his ears was like a lullaby. This weather was perfect for sleeping.
Xi Shui reached for his phone on the nightstand, checked the time, and opened WeChat. Zhou Zeqi had replied to him.
[Okay.]
[I have something at the hospital tomorrow, I won't be home.]
Xi Shui's eyelids grew heavier. He couldn't understand the meaning of this message.
So what if he wasn't home? It's not like his house didn't have a door. Did Zhou Zeqi expect Xi Shui to housesit for him?
It was a bit disappointing that he wouldn't be able to kiss Zhou Zeqi.
Xi Shui drifted back to sleep, cradling his disappointment.
-
The university basketball tournament in Capital City was set to begin today, with preliminary rounds, semifinals, and finals all taking place at the city sports arena.
For games like this, Zhou Zeqi would be allowed to play.
He left home early in the morning. On his phone was Xi Shui's message, still unanswered.
Just after 5 AM, the sky was overcast, not yet bright. Wu Fengyi and the others were waiting downstairs with umbrellas and bags, all looking up at the building.
"Why don't we go up and wait?"
"We don't have the door code."
"Why don't we have the code?"
"We forgot it."
Zhou Zeqi came out of the building. Wu Fengyi stepped forward and tossed him some buns, "Ten yuan total, remember to transfer me the money."
But that wasn't the most important thing.
The most important thing wasn't the ten yuan.
Wu Fengyi held an umbrella for Zhou Zeqi, "We're curious, what's going on with you and that little swan from CUDC? I thought you didn't know each other before."
"How could we not know each other?" Zhou Zeqi said, munching on a bun and sipping soy milk, his eyes narrow and seemingly amused, "Didn't we go see their academy's performance last semester?"
"You went to see it, sure, so maybe you know him. But he doesn't know you, right?"
"..."
"Wu Wings, don't forget, you begged me to play in this game."
Wu Fengyi: "..."
After a brief moment of awkward silence, Wu Fengyi gave the others a look. They immediately crowded around Zhou Zeqi, chattering non-stop.
"Perfect match!"
"A match made in heaven!"
"This love is sickeningly sweet."
"He must have a secret crush on you, it has to be you."
"I saw it coming from the start."
"Alright," Zhou Zeqi finished his breakfast in a few bites and opened his own umbrella. His eyes were as dark as the not-yet-bright sky. "You don't get to decide if we're a good match or not."
"Wu Fengyi, which school did you draw for the first round?"
"Capital University of Electronic Science and Technology."
With Zhou Zeqi, they were almost certain to make it past the preliminaries. Although Wu Fengyi was also skilled, his prowess was limited to being one of the best within the school, which paled in comparison to Zhou Zeqi.
But as the basketball team captain, Wu Fengyi had to deal with a lot of miscellaneous tasks besides playing. Zhou Zeqi wasn't interested in being captain. No matter who was captain, everyone ended up following Zhou Zeqi's lead anyway.
The rain grew heavier, but it didn't affect the punctual office workers at all.
Rain cascaded down the car windows like a waterfall.
Zhou Zeqi was looking at a flower shop by the road. Wu Fengyi noticed and leaned over, asking, "Are you going to buy flowers for Xi Shui? You should, since he bought some for you." Even though those flowers only cost thirty yuan.
"I don't know what he likes." The flower shop was full of various types, a dazzling array shrouded in misty rain, like an unfinished medieval oil painting.
"Swan flowers."
"Do you want to die?" There's no flower with that name.
Wu Fengyi sheepishly retreated. He had never bought flowers for anyone, nor had anyone bought flowers for him. The most flowers he'd seen were the peach blossoms and locust tree flowers on campus, and the cockscomb and azaleas in the flower beds.
Zhou Zeqi leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes to rest.
White calla lilies.
They would suit Xi Shui well.
With upward-facing blooms, pure white calla lilies were spotlessly clean. It wasn't that Xi Shui resembled them, but rather that they could barely match Xi Shui's beauty, though they could never fully capture or replace all of Xi Shui.
Xi Shui slept until 6 AM, got up to complete his morning routine, took a shower, then crawled back into bed to sleep. When he woke up again, it was already afternoon.
The heavy rain had turned into a drizzle.
He was starving.
Xi Shui slowly slid out of bed, his toes finding his slippers before he stood up.
The first thing he did was weigh himself.
Still groggy from sleep, he steadied himself against the wall as he stepped onto the scale.
61kg!
Good. Now to use the bathroom.
Xi Shui felt this was all thanks to Zhou Zeqi. They hadn't even kissed much, yet the effect was so powerful. Imagine if they really went at it!
His appetite wasn't very big to begin with, and when he was in a good mood, he didn't feel like eating much.
Xi Shui took a few slices of bread from the fridge, pressed a sandwich in the sandwich maker, poured a glass of milk, and started watching the movie "Black Swan" while eating. He had seen this film many times before.
His phone, placed nearby, started ringing.
It was his mom.
After Xi Shui answered, Li Wanzhi was silent for a long time. Finally, he heard her mutter a curse: "Damn him."
"Dad wants you to go abroad again?"
"Mm-hmm."
"What's so great about going abroad?"
"Exactly."
"I told him not to call you. I even confiscated his phone, but he must have sneakily taken it back to throw his weight around with you. He let it slip to your grandma, and she gave him an earful. Grandma's going to call you in a bit, make sure you answer."
"Okay."
Li Wanzhi knew Xi Shui had many mood swings and tended to eat recklessly when upset, using food to distract himself. But this violated his strict self-imposed rules and principles, making him feel even worse.
This was why the whole family opposed him going abroad and stood on his side.
The more stubborn one is about certain things, the easier it is to be hurt by what they care about.
"What are you eating?"
Xi Shui took a bite of his sandwich, "A sandwich with tomato, egg, and corn kernels."
Li Wanzhi felt somewhat relieved and asked, "Did you install the security screens?"
"No need," Xi Shui took a sip of milk, thinking of Zhou Zeqi, his tone lightening, "My neighbor is a good person."
"..."
Hearing Xi Shui's cheerful tone, Li Wanzhi asked curiously, "How do you know they're a good person?"
Xi Shui wouldn't tell his family he was dating, but Zhou Zeqi being a good person was a fact.
He was willing to date Xi Shui and kiss him - wasn't that proof enough of being a good person?
"We go to the same school."
Li Wanzhi was both surprised and delighted, "That's great! You can look out for each other."
"Yes, yes," Xi Shui nodded repeatedly.
Li Wanzhi gave some more advice about getting along well with neighbors and such, which Xi Shui agreed to. After ending the call, his grandmother's call came right after. Xi Shui had only eaten a third of his sandwich.
"Grandma, good afternoon."
"Oh, my dear grandson, my dear grandson, did your father hurt you again?"
"No," Xi Shui said softly, "I'm fine now."
Grandma was very attached to her family members, whether it was Grandpa or Li Wanzhi or Xi Shui, just not Xi Buyao. She said Xi Buyao was annoying and always had a sour face.
"Are you coming home next weekend? Grandma went shopping and bought you a necklace. Your cousin said diamonds suit you, but I think gemstones are better. If you don't like it when you see it, we can go exchange it."
Xi Shui replied "Either is fine" and "What would you like? I'll buy something for you when I come back."
"Bring me one of those little cakes you brought last time. I haven't had one in so long, I'm going crazy craving it."
Xi Shui chuckled, "Alright."
Most of the Xi family was involved in the dance industry, whether ballet, classical dance, or other styles. Many needed to maintain their figures, so phrases like "I'm dying for it" or "I'm craving it like crazy" were often heard around the house, even from Grandma.
-
After finishing his evening routine, Xi Shui pulled up a video of "The Dancing Girl" and practiced for three or four hours straight.
His white practice clothes hugged his slender, slight frame, embodying both strength and beauty. He had pushed his bangs back with a headband, and sweat trickled down his temples, dampening his eyelashes.
The wooden floor creaked as feet landed upon it.
Ballet demands that dancers move with grace, leaping as if they were swans. Xi Shui could achieve a strong sense of suspension when jumping, but the room was not large enough, somewhat limiting his performance.
"Knock knock."
Someone was at the door.
It was almost 10 PM, and Xi Shui wondered who it could be.
Dressed in his practice clothes, Xi Shui ran to open the door.
A large group of people stood in the hallway, all wearing expressions of disbelief, their mouths agape enough to fit light bulbs inside.
"......"
Wu Fengyi leaned on Meng Kewen's shoulder, waving at Xi Shui, "Hi, good evening."
The others immediately echoed in unison, "Hi, good evening."
Zhou Zeqi looked at Xi Shui's attire and his damp appearance, then said in a low voice, "I'll come see you later." Without waiting for Xi Shui's response, he pushed him back inside and closed the door.
Zhou Zeqi turned to face Wu Fengyi and the others, "Enjoyed the view?"
Meng Kewen was about to say it was nice when Wu Fengyi pinched his waist hard. His face contorted in pain as he shouted, "What? What? I didn't see anything!"
They had passed the preliminary round and were celebrating outside. As the school was about to turn off the lights and it had started raining, the group clamored to stay at Zhou Zeqi's place for the night. Zhou Zeqi thought that since he hadn't seen Xi Shui today, he might as well say hello.
Wu Fengyi and the others didn't know Xi Shui lived next door. They were standing behind Zhou Zeqi waiting for him to open the door, but instead saw him knock on the neighboring door. When it opened and they saw Xi Shui, they were shocked. Xi Shui? They were living next door to each other!
Zhou Zeqi kicked them into his room, tossed his backpack onto the sofa, and walked straight to the balcony.
"What, so upset you're going to jump?" Wu Fengyi, familiar with the place, went to the fridge to grab some sodas. He only saw Zhou Zeqi's clothes fluttering, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
!
Did he really jump?
Wu Fengyi was alarmed and dragged Meng Kewen to the balcony to check.
They didn't see Zhou Zeqi jumping off, but they did see him leap onto the neighboring balcony.
Zhou Zeqi turned back and said to Wu Fengyi, "I'll be back later. Help yourself to drinks if you want any."
Wu Fengyi was dumbfounded by Zhou Zeqi's shameless behavior. He recalled Zhou Zeqi's strange actions on the balcony some time ago. No wonder he had been acting so oddly – Xi Shui was right next door!
Xi Shui had been startled twice that night.
First by Zhou Zeqi's friends.
Second by Zhou Zeqi appearing on the small balcony of his practice room.
Xi Shui was about to turn off the stereo and some equipment, planning to shower and rest, when he saw Zhou Zeqi's figure. His heart skipped a beat. He glanced behind Zhou Zeqi and asked, "You... how did you jump over here?"
The sweat on Xi Shui's neck hadn't dried yet, a thin layer of perspiration making his long neck glisten like a piece of smooth jade.
Zhou Zeqi sat down on a chair by the wall, "Just wanted to see you."
Xi Shui was stunned.
Not knowing how to respond.
"Okay."
"......."
Zhou Zeqi said he wanted to see him, and he truly was looking at him, very seriously and intently. Under his gaze, Xi Shui felt like he was about to burst into flames.
He touched his own face, thinking that since he was the one who had actively pursued Zhou Zeqi, he should take the initiative. With sparkling eyes, he looked at Zhou Zeqi and asked, "Zhou Zeqi, are you going to kiss me today?"
Zhou Zeqi's eyes slowly narrowed.
Yesterday's kiss had been good, but not long enough, so Xi Shui hurriedly added, "You can kiss me fiercely like yesterday, but for longer."
Xi Shui made his request with a serious face. Zhou Zeqi, seeing his red ears, couldn't refuse. He smiled and said, "Alright."
*
Little Stream: I command you, kiss me fiercely