Just as Xia Xiqing had anticipated, within five hours of the livestream ending, Weibo exploded.
Hashtags like [Xia Xiqing Livestream], [Xia Xiqing Zhou Ziheng Livestream Kiss], and [Kiss from Behind] trended simultaneously. Both the full livestream and specially edited sweet clips shot to the top of the charts.
Particularly the moment where Zhou Ziheng kissed him from behind while he was covered by a canvas—a major Weibo entertainment influencer turned it into a GIF and shared it.
[@FeathersFlyingToTheSky: Holy crap, just look at Zhou Ziheng’s kiss! It’s so swoon-worthy I can’t keep my legs together! This couple is truly divine. Life on earth is too bitter—thank you for descending to spread sweetness 😭😭😭]
The comments below have already surpassed 30,000.
[@Self-Study Girl Life Winner: I’ve never seen anyone this captivating in my entire life!!!! Zhou Ziheng!!! I’ll remember you forever!!]
[@Four Ice Cubes: Zhou Ziheng is absolutely stunning—what divine looks! What divine chemistry! Is this really not a romantic drama???]
[@Universe’s #1 Alpha: He truly lives up to being the man I chose!! Even though he already belongs to someone else. 【Heartache】]
[@MizukiYukixx: AAAAAH this slow-motion scene is breathtakingly beautiful, the reversed kiss, I am that canvas!!!]
[@MyBelovedIsAPainter: Waaah my little painter is too gorgeous, like a little angel veiled in white!!]
[@luringlove: Just a passerby, but these two faces are so perfectly matched. Top-tier entertainment couple material—so heart-fluttering to watch.]
[@Jihe Girl: Did anyone notice Zhou Ziheng still has his backpack on? My heavenly, fairy-like younger攻!!!]
[@shooting: Ahhhhh sisters, go watch that livestream video!!! Zhou Ziheng’s words are even more swoon-worthy!!! I’m the prophet, and I’ve verified Xia Xiqing is the one I like!!! He even sent a pink water!!]
[@Self-Study Girl’s True Nature Is a Groundhog: Exactly! The livestream was even more swoon-worthy. When Zhou Ziheng covered Xiqing’s ears and whispered “Close your eyes when it gets dark” in his ear, I did a Thomas spin and exploded into heaven!!! Since Xiqing was wearing an earpiece, Zhou Ziheng’s voice was crystal clear when he leaned in—that deep bass killed me!!]
[@cantfocus: Seriously, this isn’t staged?]
[@NoRegrets replies to @cantfocus: Not staged. Xiqing agreed to stream for fans after “The Stalker” hit 1 billion yuan at the box office to fulfill his promise. Zhou Ziheng came back after school and accidentally walked into Xiqing’s studio, which is why everyone saw him. They turned off the stream afterward. And this part was when Xi Qing was talking about Werewolf with fans. When Ziheng walked in, he covered his face with a canvas and said, ‘It’s dark, please close your eyes.’]
[@HuShanFengLai replies to @NoRegrets: AAAAAHHHHHH I WATCHED THAT WEREWOLF EPISODE TOO!!!! I COULD WATCH THEM PLAY WEREWOLF FOREVER!!!]
[@Silverwine replies to @NoRegrets: “After school, heading home” is just too cute!!! I’ll always love younger guys!!]
[@InkRainLikePaint replies to @NoRegrets: I caught the key point!!! They turned off the stream!!! What were they doing offline?!]
[@Self-Study Girl Go for It replies to @No Regrets: Werewolf flirting is seriously super super sweet!!! The Seer’s sweet talk!!]
[@CP Sweetest Fan: Today I’m a lemon spirit. If only my CP were one-tenth as sweet as theirs during self-study.]
Meanwhile, the clip of Xia Xiqing singing and explaining things during the livestream also surfaced online, sparking heated discussions among netizens.
[@SurvivalDelusioner: Honestly, I don’t usually care much about celebrity couples. But watching Xia Xiqing’s stream was a pleasant surprise. His explanation about Rhino really hit home. I recommend all fans watch this segment—his insights on celebrities, personas, and fan filters are pure truth. Plus, there are so many girls still lost in infatuation. BTW, Xia Xiqing is seriously gorgeous.]
[@ThoughtsWithoutEvil: The rhino bit was absolutely brilliant—truly an artist! I want to date an artist so badly!!!!]
[@ForYourSake: This segment was so sincere. Many people don’t actually love the real rhino—just the fantasy they’ve created in their minds.]
[@Go: This commentary is so insightful. btw Xia Xiqing’s voice is so pleasant, and his singing is incredibly gentle.]
[@FriendsStudyingTogether: Actually, after mentioning the rhino, Brother Xiqing kept putting himself down, emphasizing how his persona is just a facade. Few celebrities would dare say things like, “I’m not gentle at all, you’ve all fallen into the rhino trap too.” That line made my eyes well up. Brother Xiqing is so honest. It breaks my heart to hear him list his flaws like that.”
The most heartbreaking part is how he belittles himself, seeing things so clearly, yet ends by saying Zhou Ziheng isn’t like that. “He’s a reality more beautiful than fantasy, an irreplaceable rhino.” That line is just… And the way he kept his head down while saying it—he must have been so insecure inside. Tears welled up.]
[@ShanHaiNanPing: Seeing this part, you can tell he genuinely loves Zhou Ziheng. Even though he knows full well that loving someone is a process of self-deception, he stubbornly insists Zhou Ziheng is a reality beyond illusion.]
The two protagonists, the subject of heated debate in the outside world, still cling to each other in their own little world. The teasing after the livestream finally ignited a wildfire, and the life that had burned itself out found solace in the soft, fluffy cotton quilt of the afternoon.
In a daze, Xia Xiqing opened his eyes and found himself not in the bedroom. To be precise, not in the apartment bedroom.
He sat up and looked down at his hands.
So small.
This bed was small too.
Stepping down, he saw the blue-striped cotton slippers by the bedside—they were small too.
What was happening to him?
Slowly slipping on the slippers, he realized he had somehow returned to his childhood room—the very room that had sealed away all his pain and despair. Fear instantly spread through him like a flood, as if Pandora’s box had been kicked open, spilling black liquid that crept upward from beneath his feet.
The bright sunlight outside the window vanished abruptly, plunging the world into a deafening, pitch-black silence.
How could this be?
He felt like a clumsy, slow-witted marionette, dragging his feet toward the door. He thrust out his small hands and pounded fiercely on the door.
“Is anyone there? Anyone outside?” His voice trembled slightly, beyond his control. “No one? I need to get out.”
The tightly shut door stood in the darkness like a stern face, utterly unmoved by his pleas.
He couldn’t recall how long he’d been pounding, only that his tiny hands had grown numb with pain. This feeling was all too familiar—as if he’d endured it countless times before. All he could do was curl up in a tiny corner, hugging his trembling arms.
Time flowed like sand in an hourglass within the darkness, leaving no trace of its passage. Yet suddenly, he heard voices at the door. Someone was speaking. He sprang to his feet, pressed himself against the cold door, and pounded on the wood, desperate for someone to hear him. He was truly afraid, terribly afraid.
“Is anyone there? It’s so dark in here.”
The voices outside grew clearer.
[Over my dead body! You’ll never be with that woman! And you won’t get custody of Xiqing either!]
[You think I want to raise him? With a lunatic like you as his mother, he’ll go mad too before long!]
[Go to hell!]
[You’re truly insane! How could I have ever fallen for you? No one will ever love a madwoman like you!]
The quarrel, an endless quarrel.
Parents’ arguments are the first horror movie children witness in their lives.
Both the sounds and the images become permanently etched into their tender hippocampi, never to be forgotten.
Will I become a madwoman?
No one loves madmen.
In the essay assignment given by the teacher, he was the only child to receive a zero. The topic was “Parental Love.” Holding that essay paper, Xia Xiqing clenched his pencil tightly in his small hand, sitting motionless on his little chair for the entire class period.
He wrote only the opening line.
[My mom and dad love me very much, ]
But his arms ached, bearing purple marks from the belt. His back was streaked with bruises from the golf club, stripes like the patterns on his little slippers. So when he napped, he could only lie face-down, never flat on his back.
In June’s heat, he had to wear long sleeves and pants to hide these scars, to avoid embarrassment.
Is someone like him still loved?
Even the teacher called him to the office, asking why he hadn’t finished.
“I don’t know how to write…”
The teacher looked puzzled. “Why? You usually write so well, Xi Qing.” She ruffled Xia Xiqing’s hair. “Your mom and dad are the people who love you most in the whole world, right?”
But they’d never said those three words to me. He wanted to argue back, but swallowed his words in hurt instead. He’d been warned never to mention his parents outside the hospital.
“…Yes.”
In a daze, he found himself back in the hospital ward. He lay in the small bed, his sleeves now adorned with familiar blue-and-white stripes.
Turning his head, he saw two children perched on a stool by the window—young Xia Zhixu and Chen Fang. They seemed to be crying, yet perhaps they weren’t.
He pulled back the white cotton quilt. In the private ward, the nanny sat asleep on the sofa. Little Xia Xiqing, suppressing his pain, tiptoed to the window. Standing on a chair, he smiled at them through the glass pane.
“When will you get better?” Xia Zhixu’s little fangs showed whenever he spoke, but otherwise, he looked just like his father.
Little Xiqing shook his head.
Beside him, Chen Fang clung desperately to the window. “Then… then are you in pain now?”
He shook his head again, but as he did, tears began to fall. Wiping them away with his tiny hand, he said, “My tummy hurts a little, but I’m almost better.” He smiled, holding up his tiny index finger and thumb to demonstrate. “I have a scar this long on my belly, stitched up. But I can’t show you—my, my chair isn’t tall enough.”
After speaking, he breathed on the glass. The condensation blurred the children’s innocent faces. He stretched out his chubby little finger and drew a line on the glass, then traced a zigzag wave pattern along it.
“Like this,” his eyes lit up. “Look.”
But they weren’t looking. They didn’t seem to be looking. They were crying.
Watching them cry, he felt like crying too.
Truth is, I’m in so much pain, I’m dying.
After I die, I won’t be able to play with you guys anymore—no more putting little earthworms in Chen Fang’s lunchbox, no more flying paper airplanes with Zhixu.
Thinking about this, he felt like crying again.
Teacher… what if… what if Mom and Dad don’t love me?
Then… is there anyone who still loves me?
The room plunged once more into endless darkness. That black fluid swallowed him whole like a merciless swamp.
Who will save me?
His wounds sent out silent distress signals.
Suddenly, the door swung open. A beam of light poured in, straight and sharp as a sword. His fight-or-flight response froze him in fear. Standing on his tiny chair, he dared not move an inch.
A tall figure appeared, its shadow stretching long beneath the chair he stood upon. Xiao Xiqing lifted his head, gripping the window sill tightly. In the darkness, he strained to see the face of the person. Light fell behind him, like a sculpture from his mother’s collection. Holding a bouquet of roses, he walked in quietly, bringing light with him.
Without a word, he lifted him up, rescuing him from the darkness with those gentle yet strong arms. He carried him through the hospital filled with the unpleasant smell of disinfectant, through the tree-lined path, past the musical fountain surrounded by a group of little girls, to a small lawn.
The soft grass enveloped him in its scent.
He still felt a little afraid, timidly gazing at this stranger’s face. This person was strange—stuffing the roses into his arms, gently stroking his back, over and over with tender caresses. His palms seemed to hold a strange healing power; the pain didn’t feel quite as sharp anymore.
Even the wound felt warm and tingly, like the soft prickle of grass blades against his cheek.
This person was very beautiful. In his still-developing sense of aesthetics, anyone resembling a pure white sculpture was beautiful—because his mother always gazed at those motionless sculptures with such reverent eyes.
Yet he was alive. He smiled, and when he did, his deep eyes curved into crescent moons.
The sky suddenly darkened, swiftly and completely. Little Xiqing grew afraid, curling into himself like a stray cat perpetually haunted by fear. But this man embraced him, whispering softly, “Don’t be afraid,” over and over. His embrace was warm, carrying the gentle scent of sun-kissed earth—a beacon of warmth in the darkness.
He extended a hand, opening his palm before this little stray cat.
Resting in his palm was a tiny starlight, its brilliant beam radiating along the lines of his fingers.
“What is this?”
His voice was low and soft. “This is a gift for you. Thank you for being born into this world.” The plump little hand carefully took the starlight, pinching it between its fingers.
So bright.
Where there is even one star, it is no longer pure darkness.
Stars are fragments of the sun that have fallen.
“This is Xiao Xiqing’s first birthday gift.” He opened his palm once more, a pale green glow emanating from it. Like a firefly dancing freely in the night.
Xiao Xiqing reached out, unable to grasp it, yet it didn’t fly far. It circled slowly around his little face, like a solitary planet orbiting in the vastness of the cosmos.
“Is it still dark?” He hugged Xiao Xiqing close.
Xiao Xiqing turned to look into his eyes, then nodded blankly. “Just a little bit.”
“Just a little bit dark…” He extended another hand, clenching it into a fist before the little one’s eyes. “Thump—” he whispered the onomatopoeia softly into his ear, then suddenly opened his fingers. A dazzling little firework burst forth from his large palm.
The brilliant sparks reflected in those timid pupils, sparkling and twinkling like stars.
“This is for Xi Qing’s second birthday present.” After saying that, he kissed the little head on the back. “Still scared?”
The little rascal turned his face, not answering the question but asking in a babyish voice, “Is there more?”
“How can you be so adorable?” His face broke into a helpless yet doting smile, wanting to hold him tight yet afraid of hurting him. “Little troublemaker. Close your eyes.”
Little Xi Qing obediently hummed in agreement, but secretly left a tiny, slender slit open, his eyelashes fluttering guiltily. Through that small gap, he saw the hands holding him clasp together, as if gently cradling something.
“Open your eyes,” he said.
The moment his palm opened, a tiny butterfly fluttered out. Its wings were dusted with pale blue phosphorescent powder, glowing faintly in the darkness. It spun once in flight before landing on the small mole on Xiao Xiqing’s nose.
“This is for you. Your third birthday gift.” The arms holding him from behind patted his little belly. “Our Xiqing is three years old now.”
Before the eager little rascal could ask another question, he grabbed the tiny hand and placed his own clenched right fist over it.
“Here, your little treasure’s fourth birthday gift.”
Little Xiqing opened his palm in wonder, waiting for the gift to appear.
A soft, white flower fell into his tender palm.
“What kind of flower is this?”
The man kissed the top of his little one’s head. “A rose. A paper rose.”
“I can fold paper airplanes,” the little one turned his face, looking serious. “My airplanes fly the farthest. They can… they can…”
“Can what?” He stroked the child’s cheek.
“They can fly out of our garden. They can fly away.” He suddenly pouted, as if troubled by something.
“You can fly out too. I’ll take you flying.” He gently pinched Xiao Xiqing’s chin. “You haven’t turned five yet, right? Let’s celebrate your fifth birthday together, okay?”
The little one turned his face away. A tiny butterfly fluttered near his ear, tickling him, leaving him puzzled.
He lifted the little one up, facing him, and kissed his cheek. The child was puzzled. “Why are you giving me a gift?”
He tickled Xiao Xiqing’s adorable little nose.
“A reward. For growing up so bravely.” For some reason, the stranger’s voice trembled slightly. “…For waiting for me so bravely.”
“Are you going to cry?” Little hands traced his eyes, gently stroking his thin eyelids. “Don’t cry.”
He suddenly smiled. “I’m not crying.” He lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry I came so late. This is all I can offer you in return.”
“From now on, I’ll always be with you.”
From now on…
Would he truly stay forever?
Why had he appeared? Why was he here?
“Who are you?” The small face tilted upward, pupils dark and shining.
The stars in the sky seemed to brighten in response. Cool starlight flowed down, lingering on that beautiful face, making his smile sparkle.
“I was born to love you.”
The dream suddenly collapsed. Opening his heavy eyes once more, Xia Xiqing gasped for breath.
His panicked hand reached out, touching a familiar warmth. He couldn’t define the feeling—too complex. Sadness, resentment, panic, fear, and at the very bottom, a sense of peace.
The tangled emotions swirled together, churning into cool tears that drifted down his cheeks in an unconscious sleepwalk before finally falling into the cotton quilt.
Deep in slumber, Zhou Ziheng sensed movement in his arms. Drowsy, he murmured, “What’s wrong?” His embrace tightened as he blindly kissed the person, lips meeting several times before suddenly furrowing his brow and opening his eyes.
“Why are you crying?” Zhou Ziheng panicked slightly. “Did you have a nightmare?” He patted Xia Xiqing’s back rhythmically.
Xia Xiqing shook his head, burrowing deeper into Zhou Ziheng’s warm embrace. “Not a nightmare.”
It was a beautiful dream, carrying the scent of fresh grass and scattered stardust.
His chest pressed tightly against Zhou Ziheng’s, their hearts beating seamlessly together.
“Thank goodness.”
Zhou Ziheng didn’t quite understand. He slipped his hand under Xia Xiqing’s shirt, his fingertips gently rubbing the skin glistening with a thin sheen of sweat. Holding him close, he kissed the soft, slightly protruding cartilage behind his ear. “Thank goodness for what?”
Thank goodness I held on.
Thank goodness you came to save me, even if you were a little late.
But you still came.
Nestled against his shoulder, Xia Xiqing suddenly murmured, “Can you give me some more birthday presents?”
Zhou Ziheng stroked his back rhythmically. “What kind of birthday gifts?”
“Gifts for the past twenty-five years,” Xia Xiqing slid his cold feet up Zhou Ziheng’s calf to warm them. “Twenty-five of them. Anything will do—even little flowers or grass.”
Zhou Ziheng chuckled, amused by Xia Xiqing’s request, and kissed the lips that were still rosy from sleep several times. “Sure.”
Xia Xiqing released his grip, pulling back slightly to look at Zhou Ziheng. “Why didn’t you ask me why?”
Zhou Ziheng smiled faintly. “Do I really need to ask?” He gave Xia Xiqing a quick peck on the lips. “To make it up to you.”
Xia Xiqing froze, thinking he was still dreaming. He pinched Zhou Ziheng’s arm hard, hearing him gasp. “That hurts.”
It wasn’t a dream.
Suddenly overcome with hurt, he wrapped his arms around Zhou Ziheng’s neck before tears could fall.
“It’s your fault you came so late.”
“Yeah, it’s all my fault. I got lost on the way.” Zhou Ziheng stroked the back of his neck.
“Thank you for waiting for me.”
