It had been a month since school started, and the monthly exams were coming up soon.
Since Ti Xiao and Xiao Yao got together, Ti Nanyi no longer dared to run over to her uncle as much. It was only these few days near exams that Ti Zhe forcibly brought her over for tutoring, saying she could “come and get some cat cuddles,” especially since she hadn’t passed the last few tests, and her mom wouldn’t let her keep a cat at home.
But according to Ti Nanyi herself:
She was here just to watch the cute couple.
She had never seen anyone who bossed people around as much as her uncle. The remote was right there on the table—just a couple steps away—but he still made his handsome and charming aunt fetch it for him.
“What are you looking at?” Ti Xiao lazily flopped on the sofa, casually switching channels to whatever show he wanted. “You should go study. Stop watching TV.”
Ti Nanyi pouted and reluctantly put down the little purring creature, grabbing her textbooks and following her aunt to the study.
The house wasn’t very soundproof, and from the living room, Ti Xiao could hear Xiao Yao tutoring Ti Nanyi, so he turned down the TV volume a bit to avoid disturbing their lesson.
Flipping through several channels and finding nothing interesting, Ti Xiao simply turned off the TV and focused on playing with little Puru, trimming her nails at the same time.
The near-forgetting of little Puru last time when returning from his parents’ house had deeply traumatized the kitten’s young heart, and it had thrown a tantrum since then. In these past few days, it kept scratching Ti Xiao, leaving four or five bleeding scratch marks. The final consequence was always Xiao Yao grabbing Ti Xiao’s forehead and flicking it.
Little Puru struggled in Ti Xiao’s arms, kicking wildly with all four paws and biting his clothes. After Ti Xiao finished clipping her nails, he had a few more fresh scratches to show for it. Meanwhile, Xiao Yao had finished tutoring Ti Nanyi her extra lessons.
It was already past dinner time when Xiao Yao came out of the study and asked Ti Xiao, “Hungry? What do you want to eat?”
“Coke chicken wings,” Ti Xiao said, brushing cat hair off his clothes and casually mentioning it. Seeing Ti Nanyi still sitting calmly on the sofa, he asked, “Why are you still here?”
Ti Nanyi: ???
Had her status dropped so low she couldn’t even mooch a bite anymore?
Lower than little Puru?
Ti Xiao reached into a snack bag beside him—empty. “Xiao Yao, we’re out of snacks.”
A voice came from the kitchen: “Buying some this afternoon.”
Xiao Yao didn’t have to attend extra classes at school today, but Ti Nanyi still had to go, and she was already almost late.
“Take this and hurry up.” Ti Xiao stuffed the last bit of snacks into Ti Nanyi’s hand, so she wouldn’t go hungry.
After Ti Nanyi closed the door, the room returned to peaceful quiet, with only the sizzling sound of chicken wings frying in the pan coming from the kitchen.
Though they had only been together a few months, it was basically like living together now—Ti Xiao stayed at Xiao Yao’s place every day, eating and sleeping there, even bringing over his computer and streaming gear.
By contrast, his own home was cold and empty. He only went back occasionally to grab things or to stay a night if he was annoyed that Xiao Yao’s bed was too small for trying out new positions.
He remembered the first time he went to Xiao Yao’s place—it felt so cold and sterile, lacking any personal warmth.
Now, it was much better. The small apartment was full of life and neatly arranged furniture and decorations. Ti Xiao had proper meals every day, and someone was always waiting for Xiao Yao when he got home from work.
That feeling of having someone there with you—it felt strange and wonderful to Ti Xiao.
His heart was happy and warm.
While he was enjoying the feeling, Ti Xiao received a text message from his landlord.
When Ti Xiao first rented the place, he had paid two years’ rent upfront. Since he moved out to focus on painting before graduating, the lease was about to expire.
The landlord apparently needed money urgently and wanted to sell the apartment, with the buyer already lined up, just waiting for Ti Xiao’s lease to end.
Looks like he could finally start living with Xiao Yao officially.
During dinner, Ti Xiao brought up the topic.
“As for the rent…” Even though talking about money can strain relationships, Ti Xiao thought it necessary to mention. “How about we split it fifty-fifty? Or I can pay more.”
But Xiao Yao put down his chopsticks and looked a little troubled. “Xiao Xiao, you don’t have to be so precise with me.”
Who pays a bit more or less isn’t that important—the important thing is being together.
Usually, whoever brought groceries or snacks would pay. They never kept track of the bills.
Ti Xiao also put down his chopsticks. “I just think it’s unfair if you pay for everything.”
“Alright, no matter what, I want to pay my share of the rent.”
“You work hard all day teaching Ti Nanyi,” Ti Xiao reasoned after thinking it over, “while I mostly just stay home drawing sketches. It’s not that exhausting.”
He didn’t say anything about teachers’ low salaries because he always felt there were some dark forces behind Xiao Yao, and his monthly income wasn’t limited to that small fixed salary.
“Don’t worry.” Xiao Yao pinched his cheek, stacked the bowls and plates, and headed toward the kitchen. Ti Xiao followed, waiting for what he’d say next.
Xiao Yao washed his hands, rinsed off the grease, then pulled Ti Xiao—his little tail—into the bedroom, hugged him, and kissed the corner of his lips.
“There will be times when you get tired.”
Then he collapsed onto the bed.
Daytime “playing around” like that… really is tiring—especially after unlocking a new position last night.
Afterwards, Ti Xiao sat in the bathtub, his head covered in foam. “Then I’ll move all my stuff over next weekend, okay? I’ll swap out your little bed—there’s just not enough space.”
“Sounds good.” Xiao Yao stared at the kiss marks on his skin and couldn’t help but lean down to kiss him again. “Tomorrow I’ll clean out the other room and make some space for you.”
“What for?” Ti Xiao immediately got suspicious. They were about to live together—were they still going to sleep in separate rooms?
“I mean,” Xiao Yao saw right through his confusion and pinched his cheek, “I’m cleaning it up so you can use it for your drawing livestream.”
“Oh.” Ti Xiao responded. “It’s not urgent, anyway—my livestream channel still hasn’t been unbanned.”
His channel had been banned for almost a month now, and these days Ti Xiao had been busy with commissioned artwork and hadn’t been livestreaming at all.
By the time he remembered his channel again, quite some time had passed. Ti Xiao’s old apartment had been given up, and new tenants had moved in next door—a young couple with a child.
While editing a Weibo post about livestreaming tonight, Ti Xiao glanced at the calendar on his desk and circled August 14th.
The gift he was preparing for Xiao Yao had to be one-of-a-kind.
Just as he sent out the Weibo post, Xiao Yao rushed into his room, grabbed his left hand, and inspected it closely.
“What’s wrong?” Ti Xiao was stunned by the sudden move. “Is there something on my hand?”
Xiao Yao said nothing. Frowning, he bit down on Ti Xiao’s hand.
He bit down pretty hard, leaving a ring-shaped tooth mark on his ring finger, almost like a ring.
“Ouch.” Ti Xiao pulled his hand back, then lightly punched Xiao Yao. “Xiao Yao, are you part dog or what?”
After getting a few light hits, Xiao Yao left, leaving Ti Xiao puzzled, staring at the tooth mark on his ring finger.
Recently, the weather in Xuancheng had been warming up, getting a bit hot. Whenever Ti Xiao felt hot, his appetite dropped. Though he ate very little at dinner, he kept snacking on fruits and treats constantly.
“Want some more?” Xiao Yao looked at his half-eaten meal with concern. “Try to eat fewer snacks.”
“I’m full already. I’m going to livestream now.” Ti Xiao put down his chopsticks and sat at the computer. “Wash some strawberries for me, will you?”
After a month without streaming, his fans’ enthusiasm was still high. The livestream room was still crowded with viewers, all asking how Ti Xiao had been doing.
[Glad I stopped by today. I thought Achoo (his nickname) wasn’t streaming anymore.]
[A whole month! I was about to wither away waiting.]
[Will your family’s long-legged little cookie be on stream again this time?]
“Nope.” Ti Xiao fiddled with the microphone, blowing off the dust. “I’m afraid my livestream will get banned again.”
Last time it was because Xiao Yao messed around that Ti Xiao’s livestream channel got banned. This time he was definitely not letting that happen again.
No sooner had he finished speaking than Xiao Yao came in with some strawberries and tidied up the messy snack bags beside him, tossing them in the trash. “Stop eating snacks.”
“I’m not full yet.” Ti Xiao grabbed a bright red strawberry and happily bit into it.
Xiao Yao watched the juice drip down Ti Xiao’s chin and shook his head indulgently but helplessly, pulling out a tissue to wipe it off.
Their conversation just now was fully overheard by the fans watching the livestream. Especially since the camera angle perfectly captured Ti Xiao’s head and Xiao Yao’s long legs.
The chat on the screen was flooding with messages again.
[OMG, I could play with those legs for a whole year.]
[No… ten years would be fine.]
[How tall is Achoo’s boyfriend? I’m setting that as my standard now.]
[Are you seriously not going to let the cutie come stream again?]
“No way, no way,” Ti Xiao stuffed another strawberry into his mouth. “Can’t let him come. I’m telling you, he’s always causing trouble. I can’t even talk to you guys properly.”
“Hey, I’m telling you, don’t let his height fool you. Almost six-two, but he’s super clingy—like a little kid. So funny.”
“Yeah, he’s really lazy too. Lazier than me.”
He thought Xiao Yao was out of the room, so he went on a little roast session, twisting the truth all over the place. But honestly, while trash-talking, he was kind of bragging at the same time.
[Really that lazy? I don’t buy it.]
[Dang, six-two with that adorable lazy side? That’s the best kind of contrast.]
[Haha, Achoo, don’t you look behind you before you talk? You probably want to inherit my grasshopper charm.]
The barrage of messages reminded Ti Xiao, and he spun around sharply—there stood Xiao Yao with his arms crossed, smiling down at him.
That night they rolled around together, giving each other a proper “punishment,” until Ti Xiao’s voice was hoarse from yelling.
Next time he livestreamed, someone always tried to convince him to drag Xiao Yao on camera, but Ti Xiao just shook his sore waist and said, “No way, no way. I can’t handle that.”
Lately, Ti Xiao had been eating very little, mostly snacking on junk food instead of real meals. Xiao Yao, like an old dad, frowned whenever he saw him eating so little.
During a livestream while Ti Xiao munched on snacks, the fans finally couldn’t hold back listening to the crunching through their headphones.
[Achoo, why don’t you just quit drawing and do a mukbang instead?]
[Is this a late-night news report?]
[Listening to this made me hungry…]
“I’m reflecting, I’m reflecting,” Ti Xiao apologized symbolically and shoved another handful of chips into his mouth. Feeling a little stomach ache, he drank some hot water.
On the table sat a big plate filled with Ti Xiao’s snacks. He even held the plate up to the camera for his fans to see, earning a chorus of boos.
[You really should eat proper meals, or your stomach won’t hold up.]
[Cut down on the snacks, Achoo.]
“Focus on my drawing, focus on my drawing. Don’t mind what I’m eating.” Ti Xiao tapped the screen with his stylus. “I used to live alone and often just ate snacks for meals. It’s fine.”
This batch of work was for an upcoming project at the platform’s headquarters. Every invited author had to submit a piece, so Ti Xiao took it seriously and worked late into the night.
Tomorrow was Monday. Many students and workers had already left the livestream, saying goodnight. Xiao Yao came in to urge Ti Xiao to sleep.
“Time to rest, Xiao Xiao.” Xiao Yao knocked on the door.
“Wait, wait.” Ti Xiao was in the groove and didn’t want to stop. “Let me finish this first. You go rest.”
“How can I sleep if you don’t?” Xiao Yao came to his side, hand on the desk, frowning at the empty snack plate.
Ti Xiao spit out a preserved plum pit and stood up to kiss him. “Hey, you go to sleep first. I’ll be there soon. You have morning reading and flag-raising early tomorrow—don’t be late.”
Xiao Yao had no choice but to wash up and head to the bedroom. He just sat on the bed with the lamp on, glancing toward the opposite room every now and then.
Ti Xiao finished the line art and was about to start coloring when a sharp stomach pain hit him in waves.
He thought he was just hungry again and drank a big cup of hot water, but the pain didn’t ease. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and he was in so much discomfort his hands started shaking.
This was bad. Clutching his stomach, Ti Xiao guessed his chronic old stomach problem was flaring up again.
“Xiao Yao…” he called out quietly.
But there was no answer—he wasn’t sure if Xiao Yao had fallen asleep.
Ti Xiao took a shallow breath, feeling like every inhale was pure torture—his insides felt as if bugs were gnawing at them.
“What’s wrong, Xiao Xiao?” Xiao Yao, half asleep, sensed the movement. Rubbing his eyes, he shuffled out wearing slippers.
“My stomach hurts.” Ti Xiao bent over, curling up on the chair like a shrimp, his face and lips pale, looking pitiful.
