During the break between theory classes, Xi Shui accepted Zhou Zeqi's friend request.
Groups...
Not quite a friend, classmate... but not from the same college, not even the same year, Xi Shui thought as his finger tapped the screen. He created a new friend group for Zhou Zeqi: Neighbor.
But worried there might be other neighbors in the future, Xi Shui added a note after Zhou Zeqi's name: (Neighbor #1)
"Xiao Xi~ What are you up to~" Lin Xiaojin's head suddenly popped over.
Xi Shui was so startled he stopped breathing for a moment. He slammed his phone into the desk drawer, "You scared me."
Lin Xiaojin studied Xi Shui's expression, then suddenly grinned, "Were you Googling if being in love burns calories?"
Compared to being discovered as WeChat friends with Zhou Zeqi, Xi Shui felt the latter was even more unspeakable. He nodded, "Is that not allowed?"
"Did you find anything?" Lin Xiaojin asked excitedly, "I can't believe you actually looked it up, let me see, let me see."
Xi Shui held onto his phone, not letting Lin Xiaojin take it. His face turned red with urgency, "Look it up yourself if you want to know."
"Why should I look it up when you already did? Let me see, if it really works I might as well go find a relationship."
"How can you pursue a relationship for something like that?!" Xi Shui's eyes widened more than usual.
Unlike his normally dazed appearance, Xi Shui had alluring, flirtatious peach blossom eyes. However, his gaze was particularly pure and clean, so the hint of flirtatiousness went unnoticed.
Lin Xiaojin became friends with Xi Shui because he was attracted by his looks. Since then, he found himself captivated several times a day, especially since Xi Shui always seemed unaware of his own beauty.
Xi Shui knew this, but he felt it wasn't the most important thing.
Lin Xiaojin had discussed this issue with Xi Shui before. Xi Shui quietly expressed his opinion: "It's not my only good quality."
Lin Xiaojin leaned on the desk, looking at Xi Shui with wide eyes, "Xiao Xi, you're a bit pure and seductive."
"What does that mean?"
"It means you're so pure you could go to jail."
"Then I'm not that," Xi Shui said, taking out his phone and scrolling to the school forum.
On the first page of the forum was a post with over 20,000 replies. Even if it sank down, new replies would bump it back up the next day.
This post appeared near the end of last semester. To be more precise, it was the night of CUDC's end-of-semester performance.
At the time, they were having a meal off-campus when Lin Xiaojin came across the post and showed it to Xi Shui.
There were ten "couples" in total - male-male, male-female, female-female, cat-dog, cat-bird. Among them were three male-male pairs: one pair of freshmen who supposedly grew up together, a pair of new security guards from the South and West dormitories, and Xi Shui with Zhou Zeqi.
CUDC and CUSC rarely interacted, unless there was a school-wide event requiring both colleges to perform.
It was the only un-photoshopped picture of Xi Shui and Zhou Zeqi together.
The location was the auditorium for the performance report.
The main characters were Xi Shui and Zhou Zeqi.
Supporting roles were Xi Shui's classmates and Zhou Zeqi's close friends.
Zhou Zeqi was in the audience, in a very secluded corner where all the boys were crowded together. This was normal, as tickets for their performance report were only distributed within the college, CUSC didn't have any.
Zhou Zeqi leaned against the wall, a blade of grass - probably plucked from a flowerbed - between his lips. He wore a white sports uniform, his handsome eyebrows and seemingly indifferent lips hidden in shadow, his posture as casual as could be.
Only his eyes stood out - bright and fierce, fixated on the stage.
On stage, Xi Shui was playing the role of Chang'e. They were rehearsing "Chang'e Flying to the Moon" with gender-reversed roles.
Xi Shui's costume was simple - white fabric like clouds and jade, with a waistband cinching his waist so small it seemed it could snap. The costume looked high-quality, but its pristine whiteness couldn't compare to even a fraction of the dancer's beauty. His headdress wasn't overly elaborate, just a teardrop crystal on his brow and a white ribbon tied around his forehead, knotted at the back with the ends trailing to the ground.
Xi Shui spun 28 times in the center of the stage without moving from the spot, while Zhou Zeqi in the audience didn't blink once.
As soon as the picture was uploaded, this "couple" became the hottest topic.
At the time, everyone thought CUDC and CUSC were about to be united. Even Lin Xiaojin asked Xi Shui: "Are you secretly dating the Grim Reaper Zhou?"
Although Xi Shui denied it.
It didn't stop Lin Xiaojin from checking the post every day.
This was the second time Xi Shui had clicked on this post.
The reason for the renewed interest was that last night, after several months, Xi Shui and Zhou Zeqi were seen together again at the gymnasium, even though they weren't sitting together.
[Thank you to the real couple for feeding us, ah~]
[CUDC and CUSC never get along, it must be a secret relationship.]
[Xi Shui looks so good, where can I get that shoulder bag?]
[That's issued by CUDC, everyone has one. They look like migrant workers coming to the city. Only he makes that bag look good, try it on someone else and you'll see. That's why hardly anyone from CUDC carries that bag.]
Seeing the topic getting more and more ridiculous, Xi Shui didn't think much and replied to someone's comment.
[Xi Shui: Zhou Zeqi and I are not in a secret relationship. We don't know each other.]
[Xi Shui: What does "feeding" mean?]
[Xi Shui: The bag only looks unappealing, it's actually very wearable.]
Seconds after Xi Shui's "clarification", Lin Xiaojin suddenly turned his head, "Did you just post on the forum under your real name?"
"Uh... aren't you all using real names?"
Lin Xiaojin randomly opened someone's profile and showed it to Xi Shui, "Have you ever seen anyone with a real name like 'Big Dick'?"
The forum was anonymous. Unless necessary, no one would reveal their identity.
Because it was anonymous, people felt free to run around without pants on, so to speak.
Lin Xiaojin could already imagine what people would say to Xi Shui. His little swan had fallen into a nest of toads.
[Is it really him?]
[The profile has no posts, but it says he's from CUDC, 18 years old, with a white swan avatar. The way of speaking matches the rumors. This official rules: 90% chance it's the real deal.]
[Xi Shui!!! Come, give sister a kiss!!!]
[Xi Shui really isn't dating the Grim Reaper Zhou? Then mama can rest easy, the Grim Reaper Zhou would kiss you breathless!]
[Yeah yeah, did you know? The Grim Reaper Zhou can run 1000 meters in just over two minutes without getting out of breath, and he can punch a flying basketball out of the stadium. It's not possible, it's not possible for you two.]
[Is ballet very difficult, Xi Shui? You look so thin, are you eating properly~]
Xi Shui frowned, completely unaware of how things had developed this way. Clarifying the misunderstanding was what he should do, it couldn't continue like this.
But why were there sisters wanting kisses, and even mamas...
Lin Xiaojin snatched his phone away, "Stop looking, right now it's sisters and mamas, soon they'll transform into pantless supermen."
If he couldn't look, so be it.
Xi Shui picked up his pen from the desk and started copying notes from the PowerPoint, thinking he'd Google what "pantless superman" meant when he got home that night.
Lin Xiaojin turned off Xi Shui's phone and stuffed it into his backpack, "Why don't we have barbecue at your place this weekend?"
"We'll buy the ingredients ourselves, it's more economical. Let's invite Zhao Mengzi and the others too." Zhao Mengzi was their roommate, they got along well. When Xi Shui wasn't at school, Lin Xiaojin hung out with them.
"Sounds good!" Xi Shui agreed immediately.
"I want to eat beef with tallow, so fragrant! So greasy!"
"That's so high in calories."
"Who cares about calories once you're eating? Let's add a can of cola too!"
-
Just after May Day, summer in Beijing arrived with fanfare. In the afternoon, the sun still hung high overhead, seemingly able to melt both people and the basketball court.
Zhou Zeqi had no afternoon classes. He finished self-studying the freshman economics course in his dorm when Wu Fengyi called him to play basketball on the sports field.
Wu Fengyi played for half an hour, then retreated to the shade of a tree to drink water.
He took a moment to check his phone.
He had notifications turned on for the forum, and as soon as he opened the screen, there was a message from the forum moderator.
Xi Shui suddenly appeared, aiming to clarify the rumored romance between him and CUSC's Zhou Zeqi. The CP fans were heartbroken, but quickly switched to shipping themselves with Xi Shui!!!
Wu Fengyi: "......"
Because of Xi Shui's personal appearance, this forum thread became even hotter.
As soon as Wu Fengyi entered, he tripped over pants lying on the floor.
Among the most frequently appearing words were "kiss", "touch", "f**k"......
Xi Shui's way of speaking contrasted sharply with the impression given by his appearance. When Wu Fengyi saw him last night, he was very quiet, with a cold expression, sitting in the audience, giving off an unapproachable and aloof aura.
"You called me here to play ball? And you're hiding here yourself?" Zhou Zeqi's voice lazily sounded from behind.
He held his familiar basketball with one hand, his 6'3" height giving an especially imposing pressure.
Wu Fengyi and Zhou Zeqi had been buddies since high school. He tossed his phone into Zhou Zeqi's arms, "Take a look, Xi Shui came out to clarify, telling them to stop shipping you two."
Zhou Zeqi lowered his head and glanced at Xi Shui's post on the forum.
Not true.
Not close.
The packaging looks good.
"......"
Zhou Zeqi unconsciously licked his teeth, "It was just people on the forum stirring things up for no reason."
He handed the phone back to Wu Fengyi, who didn't look at it and instead tossed it into his backpack while asking Zhou Zeqi, "You used to get upset when people made stuff up before, but this rumor's been going on for months and you haven't reacted. What are you playing at with me? I bet right now you're dying to run to the field and sing 'Men, Cry, It's Not a Sin'."
Zhou Zeqi turned his head, his gaze falling coolly on Wu Fengyi's face. He smiled, "Fengyi, want to play a game?"
"......"
Xi Shui finished evening self-study at 8:40. After saying goodbye to Lin Xiaojin, he left through the back hill of the teaching building.
Spring had just passed, and small flowers were still blooming in the bushes on the back hill. The air was filled with a strong fragrance of flowers and plants.
A street lamp lit up every few meters. This area was right next to the library, bustling with students during the day, but particularly quiet at night.
Xi Shui wore headphones as he first went up the hill, then down, then through the park, and he'd be home.
It wasn't until his headphones automatically switched songs that Xi Shui heard steady footsteps behind him.
!
Xi Shui pressed his hand to his headphones, paused the music, held his breath, slowed his pace, and turned around. The excessively handsome face of his new neighbor appeared under the street lamp.
"Oh, it's you." It was normal for them to run into each other since they lived in the same community.
Zhou Zeqi walked up next to Xi Shui, walking side by side. "Who did you think it was?" His tone carried a hint of sarcasm that Xi Shui found odd but couldn't quite place.
Xi Shui took off his headphones and put them in his backpack. "I thought it might be a bad person."
"You don't think I'm a bad person?" Zhou Zeqi raised an eyebrow, seeing the thick shadows cast by Xi Shui's long, dense eyelashes under the street lamp.
"N-no, of course not," Xi Shui said. "We're schoolmates."
Several street lamps in this area had broken down last week.
Xi Shui walked down the steps very carefully, afraid of twisting his ankle and affecting his dancing.
Zhou Zeqi also slowed his pace accordingly.
The steps were old, with some areas damaged. The school said this was "vintage" and didn't bother fixing it.
In the near-total darkness, hearing distant classrooms still in session in the teaching building, with Zhou Zeqi silent beside him, Xi Shui's mind wandered.
As a result of this momentary distraction, Xi Shui stepped into a hole. His body tilted, and he pitched forward. His heart rate instantly quickened, and Xi Shui quickly closed his eyes and clenched his teeth.
The expected pain didn't come. He was yanked back by the person next to him, falling into their arms and colliding with a hard chest. His nose caught an unfamiliar scent.
Zhou Zeqi steadied him. "What are you smelling?"
Xi Shui looked up, said thank you, then after a slight pause, exclaimed delightedly: "Zhou Zeqi, you smell so good!"
*
Little Stream (Xi Shui) is really good at inadvertently throwing direct balls that leave Old Zhou (Zhou Zeqi) dizzy and confused.