Xi Shui didn't have the energy to wonder what Zhou Zeqi wanted him to wait for. He went to open the door for Lin Xiaojin.
Lin Xiaojin, Zhao Mengzi, and Li Bei stood in a row at the doorway, looking expressionlessly at Xi Shui inside the apartment.
"We bought beef."
"And lamb."
"And cartilage."
"Orleans chicken wings and soda."
"And lots of vegetables."
Lin Xiaojin pointed at Xi Shui accusingly, "But you, you locked us out!!!"
How could he explain this?
Xi Shui looked at Lin Xiaojin and asked dryly, "Did I? Did I really lock you out?"
He wasn't good at lying; when he did, he would blush from his face down to his neck. Lin Xiaojin, noticing his red eyes, walked in while asking, "What's wrong with you?"
Xi Shui gave the three of them disposable slippers and explained what had happened at home.
Lin Xiaojin: "How awful!"
Zhao Mengzi: "Outrageous!"
Li Bei: "This is too much!"
Xi Shui sighed, "I've met that student from the affiliated middle school before."
Lin Xiaojin, who was crouching down and taking out the food for grilling, looked surprised. "You've met him?"
"Yes," Xi Shui nodded, "My dad probably forgot, but he even came to our house for dinner once."
"What's up with your dad?"
Xi Shui: "He's... quite stubborn."
Xi Shui was usually easy-going, but the more accommodating he was, the more inflexible he became on certain principles.
Xi Buyao thought foreign countries were better, and Xi Shui knew that overseas ballet companies were more famous and professional. Who didn't know that? But they couldn't all go abroad; someone had to stay. His family wasn't short on money, and they already had relatives overseas. There was no need for the whole family to rush abroad.
Of course, a father would hope for his children to join more promising organizations, but being threatened like this still made Xi Shui feel hurt.
Zhao Mengzi and Li Bei carried all the food to the kitchen and started busying themselves, clearly familiar with the routine.
Lin Xiaojin patted Xi Shui, "Oh, my mom's the same way. She even said if I don't listen to her, she might as well be dead. But the next day, she was back to figuring out which background music would be best for her new square dancing routine."
Xi Shui understood.
"Have you had breakfast?" Lin Xiaojin noticed the trash on the coffee table that hadn't been thrown away yet. He walked over and looked at it closely. "Did you go downstairs to buy it yourself?"
Xi Shui hesitated, not wanting to say it was Zhou Zeqi who bought it for him, so he just nodded.
Just as he nodded, Lin Xiaojin turned his head, staring intently at Xi Shui while pointing at a blue plastic basin on the floor. "Is this yours?"
Xi Shui looked over.
It wasn't his; it was Zhou Zeqi's. They must have forgotten about it in their rush earlier.
The basin contained Zhou Zeqi's toiletries. Lin Xiaojin squatted down and casually picked up the facial cleanser inside, muttering, "CPB? I remember you were allergic to this brand's cleanser. Did you buy it again?"
"And this towel, didn't you hate black towels? You said white ones look better."
Xi Shui stood nearby, feeling his hair almost standing on end.
Lin Xiaojin had his back to Xi Shui. If he had stood up and turned around now, he would have seen Xi Shui's face as red as the tomatoes he bought at the market this morning.
Xi Shui forced himself to explain, "I'm not allergic to it anymore. And... black towels look good too."
Lin Xiaojin reluctantly accepted this explanation but posed another question, "Why did you put these things in the living room?"
This was completely inexplicable.
Things that others couldn't explain, Xi Shui found even more impossible to explain.
He and Lin Xiaojin locked eyes, and Xi Shui pointed at the basin, "Give it to me, I'll put it in the bathroom."
Lin Xiaojin didn't dwell on this issue any further. Right now, he just wanted to eat grilled meat.
-
Zhou Zeqi had arranged to play ball with Wu Fengyi and the others on Saturday. Not long after leaving Xi Shui's place, he changed clothes and went out.
It was in the elevator that he remembered he had left his basin at Xi Shui's house.
He opened WeChat.
The chat interface with Xi Shui was clean and empty, still showing only the initial system-generated greeting from when they first added each other as friends.
[Leave my stuff at your place for now, I'll come get it tonight.]
It wasn't until he was almost at school that Zhou Zeqi received Xi Shui's reply.
[Okay, remember to pay the water bill.]
"......"
Summer comes early in the Capital City. As soon as May Day passes, summer arrives with fanfare. The sky above Capital U was clean and bright like a mirror, with no sun visible, but the light was so intense it was hard to keep one's eyes open. The school's landscaping favored Chinese fir and locust trees. At this time of year, the locust trees were in full bloom, their delicate white flowers hanging among the lush leaves like clouds.
Early in the morning, CUSC's field was already full of students: people running laps on the track, practicing sword techniques and martial arts, playing volleyball and badminton, and even the cheerleading team was training.
Zhou Zeqi tilted his head to avoid a flying volleyball, not even bothering to pause his steps as he walked straight towards the small field in the back.
The small field wasn't large and was quite run-down. It was surrounded by weeds and overgrown shrubs, but it was quiet, with few people coming there.
Wu Fengyi and the others weren't playing basketball either. They were huddled together, chatting intensely, almost to the point of fighting.
"Me! Choose me!"
"Eight-pack abs, look! I'll go push my dad to work harder and make more money right away."
"You're such a joker!"
"I can do it too, I'm just a bit short. 180cm, same height as Xi Shui."
"But you look like a potato..."
"Meng Kewen, what are you showing off about? If you were good enough, your childhood friend would have introduced you to Xi Shui directly. You wouldn't be here picking and choosing."
Zhou Zeqi patted Wu Fengyi's shoulder. Wu Fengyi turned around, "Oh, Zhou's here!"
"What are you guys talking about?"
"Oh," Meng Kewen answered, "My childhood friend asked me to help find a boyfriend for Xi Shui. I recommended my high school junior, and these guys are disagreeing."
Meng Kewen replied casually, after all, Zhou never cared about these things.
"Your high school junior?"
"Yeah," Meng Kewen pulled up the guy's photo to show Zhou Zeqi, seeking the boss's approval, "How about it? Pretty good match for Xi Shui, right?"
Zhou Zeqi's eyelids drooped, his emotions unreadable.
In the photo, the young man wore a white shirt and black trousers. His bangs were above his eyebrows, and he did indeed have delicate features. He was smiling at the camera, looking clean and guileless.
"Not that great," Zhou Zeqi slowly spoke, "For him, it's a bit lacking."
Meng Kewen exclaimed dramatically, "How is this lacking?? Zhou, you have weird tastes."
Wu Fengyi stood nearby, hugging the basketball, watching Meng Kewen praise his junior for being handsome and excellent, while Zhou Zeqi maintained an expressionless face. Wu Fengyi chuckled to himself; he had long noticed that Zhou had some feelings for that little swan from CUDC. Only Meng Kewen would try to promote a love rival to Zhou.
"You've already recommended him?" Zhou Zeqi looked up and asked.
"Yeah," Meng Kewen nodded.
"You move pretty fast," Zhou Zeqi's lips curled in a fake smile, then he reached out and snatched the basketball from Wu Fengyi's arms. He jerked his chin at Meng Kewen, "It's been a while since we played. Come on, let's have a one-on-one."
It had indeed been a long time since Meng Kewen had played ball with Zhou Zeqi. Hearing this, he immediately put down his phone and followed, not forgetting to tell Wu Fengyi, "Wings, remember to take some photos of my handsome moves. I want to post on WeChat Moments tonight."
Wu Fengyi: "You got it!!!"
-
Xi Shui and Lin Xiaojin and the others ate grilled meat until one o'clock in the afternoon. Lin Xiaojin and the others went to the bedroom for a nap, while Xi Shui was still staring at the new friend request on WeChat, feeling troubled.
[Y: Hello, I'm Yun Chu /smiley face]
Xi Shui called out to Lin Xiaojin, "Is this the person your childhood friend found? I don't want this!"
He already had Zhou Zeqi; he didn't want anyone else.
Lin Xiaojin was too sleepy, "Then just tell him that. It's fine, I'll have Meng Kewen go kowtow to him later."
Lin Xiaojin's last few words were completely jumbled and incoherent, and Xi Shui didn't quite catch them.
He cautiously typed a reply to the other person.
[I'm sorry, but I already have someone I want to pursue. This is a misunderstanding. I'm really sorry. I can treat you to a meal sometime if I have the chance.]
The other side kept showing "typing" for a while.
After a long moment, Xi Shui finally received a reply.
[It's okay.]
Xi Shui breathed a sigh of relief.
He sent over a sticker of a smiling kitten.
The other person didn't reply to Xi Shui again.
Xi Shui thought, the other person probably wasn't very satisfied with him either.
Xi Shui put down his phone and let out a satisfied burp.
It tasted of cumin.
!
Xi Shui lifted his shirt and was horrified to discover that his V-line had disappeared.
Due to his body type, Xi Shui didn't have abs and couldn't develop them no matter how hard he tried, but he did have two rather beautiful V-lines, which had now vanished.
He went to the exercise room to weigh himself.
He stepped on the scale gently.
Very gently.
64.
!!!
It's over, it's all over.
Xi Shui walked from the exercise room to the living room, thinking as he went that he couldn't wait any longer.
He picked up his phone and sent a WeChat message to Zhou Zeqi.
[Where are you?]
[At school.]
[I need something more specific.]
[CUSC small field. Why, are you coming?]
Xi Shui pursed his lips, his expression serious.
[Yes.]
Zhou Zeqi looked at that single word and, even through the screen, seemed to see a determined Xi Shui. He laughed, and the gloom hanging over his heart dissipated.
[Alright, come. I'll wait for you.]
Xi Shui felt the same way. Through the screen, he could almost see Zhou Zeqi's smile and his intense, dark eyes.
His ears grew hot. He tossed down his phone and ran to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face.
He even washed his hair.
Finally, he ran to the bedroom and rummaged through his closet for stylish clothes.
Lin Xiaojin was awakened by the noise. With eyes still closed, he mumbled, "Xi Shui, are you ransacking the place?"
Xi Shui didn't even turn around, "Go back to sleep. I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back soon."
"Oh..." Lin Xiaojin drifted back to sleep.
Xi Shui had quite a few clothes, but they were mostly comfortable rather than trendy.
He pulled out a blue and white striped shirt, paired it with a white undershirt, and simple black dress pants.
He crouched down to find a double pearl necklace in the drawer - a silver chain with a white pearl pendant, suitable for boys too. It was a gift from his cousin.
For a watch, he chose between the Patek Philippe his mother gave him and the Casio sports watch he bought himself, opting for the latter.
Before leaving, he stood in front of the full-length mirror, lowering his gaze in deep thought.
This will knock Zhou Zeqi dead, right?
Phone in hand, he left the house. From the moment he stepped out of the community gate, Xi Shui's heart began to race, faster and faster.
At the school entrance, there was a vendor selling gardenia bouquets in various styles. As soon as the young seller saw Xi Shui, he called out, "Dressed up so handsomely, you must be going to see your girlfriend. Take a bouquet with you!"
Xi Shui looked around and walked over, "It's not a girlfriend."
"Oh, oh, then a boyfriend, a boyfriend."
"Not yet," Xi Shui thought he shouldn't go empty-handed after all. He bent down and picked up the most beautifully blooming gardenia bouquet from the stall. "How much?"
"30."
Hugging the flowers, Xi Shui contentedly headed towards CUSC.
He was too eye-catching. Even without trying to dress up, he could attract many glances wherever he appeared.
Tall and slender, with a cool and aloof demeanor, but if you met his eyes, you'd find them incredibly soft and gentle. His phoenix eyes gave him a naturally flirtatious air.
So Zhou Zeqi could spot him at a glance too.
When he appeared from behind the shrubs at the small field.
Xi Shui had changed to a different bag today, a canvas backpack. He stood at the small field, looking around, and accurately caught sight of Zhou Zeqi.
Zhou Zeqi was wearing a black basketball uniform, not as sweaty as Xi Shui had imagined. He was sitting on a long bench, arms crossed, leaning against the shrubs.
Xi Shui met his gaze, dark as night, like an ice-cold soda on a summer day, almost making Xi Shui turn tail and run.
But remembering his plan, Xi Shui mustered his courage once more.
He walked towards Zhou Zeqi, appearing calm.
Meng Kewen and Wu Fengyi were lying on the nearby grass, sunbathing. Meng Kewen's confidence had already been shattered by Zhou Zeqi. Wu Fengyi patted him, "Look, the little swan from CUDC is here."
Xi Shui really wished the people around wouldn't look. Why were there always so many people around Zhou Zeqi?
The gardenia petals were snow-white and soft, a deep, rich white. Their intense fragrance made one dizzy.
The noon sun made it hard for Xi Shui to keep his eyes open, but he couldn't squint. He had to look at Zhou Zeqi while speaking.
Xi Shui stood in front of Zhou Zeqi. Zhou Zeqi spread his knees, and Xi Shui very proactively took a step forward, standing between Zhou Zeqi's knees.
Xi Shui's hands were shaking, almost causing the gardenia petals to fall.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time," Zhou Zeqi sat up straight, looking up at the fresh and clean young man before him.
Xi Shui had no time for small talk with Zhou Zeqi. He was already 64kg!
He thrust the gardenias into Zhou Zeqi's hands. When he opened his mouth, his voice trembled uncontrollably, his face turning crimson, "I came... I wanted to tell you, I want to date you..."
*
Little Stream: I don't have time anymore!!! (Shouting loudly)
-Top 30, wow!