Chapter 25

　 Zhou Ziheng brought three bowls of noodles to the dining room, along with fried eggs and bacon.

“There’s not much in the fridge, so just eat whatever you like.”

　 Xia Xiuze was excited, “It smells so good!” He took off his school uniform jacket, sat down at the dining table, picked the largest portion, placed it in front of him, and tapped the table cheerfully with one chopstick in his hand, “Thank you, Brother Ziheng.”

　 Zhou Ziheng smiled in response. He considered calling out to Xia Xiqing, but the two of them were like rivals on a sports field who had just exchanged harsh words, and he had no idea how to approach him. Zhou Ziheng gave up and sat down at the dining table himself.

　 Xia Xiqing walked from the living room to the dining room, his clothes heavy with the smell of smoke. He lowered his head, ate a mouthful of noodles in silence, then looked up at Zhou Ziheng and smiled, “Delicious.”

　 Zhou Ziheng was taken aback, poking at the noodles with his chopsticks. He was someone who wasn’t good at accepting compliments from others, and despite having been in this line of work since childhood, he still instinctively searched for self-deprecating remarks whenever he was praised.

“No, there weren’t enough ingredients. Next time…”

　 Next time?

As soon as those two words left his mouth, Zhou Ziheng abruptly ended the conversation. This was all put together at the last minute; there was no such thing as a next time.

Xia Xiqing gave a soft laugh and lowered his head to eat the noodles in silence.

When it came to intelligence, Zhou Ziheng was undeniably a genius. But when it came to emotions, he was completely inexperienced, always caught off guard.

　 Xia Xiqing simply couldn’t fathom the possibility of him getting caught by such a person. If such a low-probability event were to occur, it would truly be a waste of all the years he had spent navigating these murky waters.

　 Since both sides had exchanged harsh words—“I’m scum, and you’re not afraid of scum. I bet you’ll fall for me, and you’re certain you won’t be moved”—it meant that this high-stakes game could finally begin. He no longer had to hide his true intentions; he could now attack and advance boldly.

　 Thinking this way, the injustice in his heart seemed to ease a bit, whether it was self-comfort or because of the steaming bowl of noodles warming his lungs.

“Ah! Brother, your show is about to start!” Xia Xiuze rushed to the living room with his bowl of noodles, and soon shouted from there, “Brother! How do you turn on the TV?!”

　 Having finished the last bite, Xia Xiqing rolled his eyes, took out his phone, tapped it a few times, then tossed it back onto the table.

“Alright! It’s on!”

　 The way these two brothers interacted was both strange and amusing. Zhou Ziheng was thinking about this when Xia Xiuze, who had run back again, dragged him to the living room sofa. “Ziheng Brother, let’s watch together.”

“I have to go back…”

　 “Don’t go back!” Xia Xiuze pushed him onto the sofa. “Do you have work to do?”

“Not today…”

“Then that’s fine!” Xia Xiuze sat down next to him, crossing his legs. “Stay with me for a while. If I don’t understand, you can explain it to me. Anyway, if you want to go back, it’s just a matter of getting up and opening two doors.”

　 This kid really had a way with words… Zhou Ziheng couldn’t find anything to argue with for a moment and was persuaded by him. The show started with an opening sequence showing the staff setting up the escape room and blindfolding the guests before leading them inside.

Not long after it began, Xia Xiuze, who had been sitting in the middle, shifted his butt forward, sliding onto the carpet.

“What are you doing?”

“I like sitting on the floor.” Xia Xiuze turned his head with a smile, his mouth never stopping even after finishing his noodles. He watched TV while turning his head and asking Zhou Ziheng various questions about the show.

“Ziheng, do you have a script?”

“A script… Yes, but we guests didn’t receive it. The guest playing the killer seems to have one.”

　 “Is your room really completely sealed off? Not just for show?”

“Hmm…”

“Have you tried picking the lock? I know how to pick locks…” Before he could finish, Xia Xiqing kicked Xia Xiuze in the back and impatiently said, “Shut up.”

　 “I was just asking,” Xia Xiqing shifted his butt closer to Zhou Ziheng, looking aggrieved. The teaser ended, and the first scene of the main film was Zhou Ziheng tied to an office chair.

“Wow, Brother Ziheng is so handsome.”

　 Zhou Ziheng was used to seeing his own face on TV, but at that moment, he felt a bit nervous, though he couldn’t explain why. The camera cut from his face to Xia Xiqing’s face. His hair was half tied up, he was wearing that familiar white shirt, his eyes were covered by a black eye mask, and his精致 face showed no extra expression.

　 The camera only captured his upper body, but Zhou Ziheng couldn’t help but recall the scene from back then—those hands bound by silver handcuffs, and the fair ankles trailing down the rope.

　 The Xia Xiqing in his memories, the Xia Xiqing in the camera, and the Xia Xiqing right beside him now—though they were the same person, Zhou Ziheng couldn’t help but feel something was different.

He couldn’t resist glancing over.

　 Xia Xiqing was half-lying on the sofa watching the program, or more accurately, watching Zhou Ziheng on the screen. Compared to now, he had really hated himself during the recording. No matter how he tried to hide it with an actor’s professionalism, he could still sense his guardedness and hostility toward himself on the screen. But now, he didn’t seem to hate himself as much.

Thinking this, he couldn’t help but turn his face slightly, his gaze searching for that face, only to meet his gaze in an unspoken, unguarded moment.

It was too coincidental, too fleeting, but the moment they met, sparks flew.

　 Zhou Ziheng quickly looked away, forcing himself to remain calm as he watched the TV screen, which had already shifted from their room to Ruan Xiao’s room.

　 “Ziheng, you’re not the killer, are you?” Xia Xiuze finally couldn’t help but start seeking clues from the two main characters. If this were just an ordinary suspense reality show, he would have quietly started analyzing the clues and immersing himself in the situation, but now that the two guests on the TV were sitting right in front of him, how could he possibly stay seated?

　 “Zi Heng, I didn’t understand that password just now. What’s going on?”

“Ah! I know that one, it’s Morse code! But I don’t remember the correspondence, let me look it up…”

“Oh no, it’s all my fault for looking up the table just now, I missed that part. How did that sister find that, Zi Heng…”

　 …

Xia Xiqing finally couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed Xia Xiuze’s neck, pinned his head between his elbows, and with a “kind” smile on his face, said slowly and clearly,

“The killer is Shang Sirui.”

“I was killed by him.”

　 “In the end, Zhou Ziheng was the first to escape.”

After saying that, he released his grip, and Xia Xiuze remained in the position of hugging his knees as he fell sideways onto the ground. The meaning of the entire episode, along with Xia Xia’s worldview, was shattered by Xia Xiqing’s ruthless three-part spoiler.

“Ah!!! Why are you so heartless! Are you a devil???“ Xia Xiuze rolled around on the woolen carpet, kicking the air in frustration, ”I hate you!!!”

Watching these two act so childishly, Zhou Ziheng couldn’t help but curve his lips upward. Something inside him seemed to pull him toward the person beside him.

　 His peripheral vision eventually followed his inner thoughts, drifting toward Xia Xiqing. To Zhou Ziheng’s slight surprise, Xia Xiqing, lying on the sofa, had his eyes curved into two crescent moons—a smile unlike any he had seen before, filled with the satisfaction and cunning of a prank gone right. Such a childish smile was something Zhou Ziheng had never seen on Xia Xiqing’s face before.

“I never want to see you again. You’re too much. I’m going home to watch it myself.”

　 With his arms crossed, Xia Xiqing extended one hand and waved it toward Xia Xiuze’s retreating back. “Take your time leaving.”

Seeing that his older brother showed no signs of lingering, Xia Xiuze grew even angrier. He grabbed his backpack from the entranceway, stormed out the door, and stood there motionless for a while, as if brewing something.  

 “Hey, are you leaving or not?” Xia Xiqing lazily turned up the volume on the TV. “Please close the door behind you.”

Zhou Ziheng had been hesitating about whether to drive the child home. He still felt uneasy about it.

After thinking about it for a long time, he finally decided to speak up. “Um… how about I drive you home… “

“Ah, you spoiler dog, may your whole family die!” Xia Xiuze suddenly blurted out an expletive, then rushed out the door and slammed it shut.

Xia Xiqing laughed in exasperation, “What’s wrong with you? You’re just cursing yourself for no reason…”

　 These two brothers… Zhou Ziheng sighed with a mix of amusement and exasperation, finally returning his gaze to the TV screen. Coincidentally, the scene had returned to his and Xia Xiqing’s room, specifically the moment when Xia Xiqing was deciphering the Morse code in “Mirror Suite.” The TV’s perspective was completely different from his own on-site view, likely captured by a camera positioned near the mirror.

　 From the front view, Xia Xiqing, with his hands cuffed, raised his leg high and kicked the mirror into pieces, then slowly withdrew it, decisive and calm. But for some reason, even though the editing was good, the production was excellent, and even the background music matched the program perfectly, Zhou Ziheng still felt that something was missing.

　 He couldn’t recreate the shock of being in the secret room and witnessing Xia Xiqing shatter the mirror with his own eyes.

Xia Xiqing’s eyes were fixed on the TV screen, watching himself raise his handcuffed hands in front of Zhou Ziheng.

　 “Do you know what I was thinking at that moment?” Zhou Ziheng suddenly spoke up. “I thought, maybe I should take the key now. Xia Xiqing is so cunning; having the key in my hand would be safer.” He looked at Xia Xiqing, smiling with unusual sincerity. “At least I’d have something to hold over him.”

　 Xia Xiqing stared expressionlessly at Zhou Ziheng. His slightly curved eyes, upturned lips, and the row of white teeth visible when he spoke, with his sharp features and fresh demeanor, inevitably brought to mind the snow-white roofs along the Aegean coast, resembling waves.

　 “At the time, I still thought you were the killer, so I was on high alert.” Zhou Ziheng turned his head, watching himself on the screen as he accepted Xia Xiqing’s request and bent down to unlock the handcuffs.

His voice was gentle, “Actually, I was able to get out safely in the end because of you.”

　 It felt like a lake by his ear, with a smooth pebble dropping into it, slowly sinking. Xia Xiqing looked at Zhou Ziheng on the screen, his head slightly lowered, just ten centimeters away from him.

“Do you know what I was thinking at the time?”

　 Zhou Ziheng turned his head to look at Xia Xiqing’s profile. The constantly changing light from the television reflected into his pupils, like a glass ball emitting an odd glow. “What?”

　 “I was thinking…” Xia Xiqing, who had been staring motionlessly at the TV, suddenly turned around, reached out, and wrapped his arm around Zhou Ziheng’s back, placing his hand on the back of his head. His entire body pressed close to Zhou Ziheng’s, the distance between their faces closing to just inches.

　 Once again, he was enveloped by the familiar scent of perfume.

Before Zhou Ziheng’s brain could process what was happening, Xia Xiqing reached out with his other hand and gripped his chin.

“Your face is really suited for kissing.”

　 After saying that, he tilted his face and kissed him.

For some reason, Zhou Ziheng’s internal alarm was delayed, and he almost froze when Xia Xiqing approached. It wasn’t until Xia Xiqing truly kissed him that the alarm in his mind suddenly woke up.

　 Xia Xiqing must be crazy!

　 Xia Xiqing also felt like he had lost his mind. He simply wanted to do this, his desires burning urgently within him, like a knife-wielding robber forcing his body to act in ways that would satisfy him. Licking, tangling, sucking—the closer he got, the more he craved. No matter how Zhou Ziheng pushed his shoulders, he refused to let go, instead wanting to get even closer.

　 The kiss between the two men was a tug-of-war with no clear winner.

The temperature rose rapidly in the intimate friction and rapid exchange of breaths, intensifying the musky scent of his perfume. Though he was a seasoned lover, Xia Xiqing grew flustered under Zhou Ziheng’s resistance, sucking on his lips and tongue without rhythm. Yet seeing his restrained expression only stoked the flames, burning him to the core.

　 Zhou Ziheng frowned. Xia Xiqing’s hands felt like slippery, icy snakes, sliding over his Adam’s apple and winding their way down, slipping into his black trench coat. He suddenly snapped out of it and grabbed Xia Xiqing’s wrist tightly, but no matter how hard he pulled, she refused to let go, even straddling him and trying to pin him down.

She was completely mad!

　 In the midst of his confusion, Xia Xiqing suddenly sensed a faint, sweet, and metallic scent filling his mouth. The delayed pain made him frown involuntarily, slowing his movements. Zhou Ziheng took the opportunity to flip him over, pinning him beneath him, gripping his hands tightly and pressing them into the sofa.

　 He kept panting, his thick eyelashes covered with droplets of sweat. The Xia Xiqing in his line of sight was different from before. His pale face was tinged with a slight flush from the excitement, and blood seeped from his bitten lips, as if a flower of exquisite color had bloomed from the wound.

　 “You’re crazy…” Zhou Ziheng’s breathing slowed slightly, but his chest still rose and fell, unable to hide the earlier tremors.

Xia Xiqing suddenly laughed, his teeth stained red, “I’ve always been crazy.”

　 Such an expression resembled that of a drug addict tormented by addiction.

“You said you weren’t afraid.”