At the end of the interview, Zhou Ziheng stood up and bowed to the interview team.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Ziheng and Xi Qing have also worked hard.” The female host also stood up, “You must be very tired.”
Zhou Ziheng shook his head. “By the way, if the last question is inconvenient, you can cut it out.”
The host smiled, “No, such an outstanding person should be seen by everyone.”
After all the work was done, Xia Xiqing and Zhou Ziheng removed their makeup at the filming location, changed into their own clothes, and waited outside. When Xiao Luo saw the two of them come out, he hurried over, “Ziheng, I’ll drive you both back. It’s on my way anyway…”
Before he could finish the word “way,” Zhou Ziheng covered Xiao Luo’s mouth. He glanced around at the staff nearby and glared at Xiao Luo.
What route? He didn’t want anyone to know he lived on the same floor as Xia Xiqing.
Xia Xiqing stood aside, watching the childish Zhou Ziheng, and couldn’t help but laugh. Was this the same Zhou Ziheng who had just given the interview?
“You go back first. I’ll call you a car.” Zhou Ziheng took out his phone. Xiao Luo glanced at Xia Xiqing, then at Zhou Ziheng. “No need. I’ll go back on my own. I can hail a taxi at the entrance.” He fished out Zhou Ziheng’s car keys and handed them to him. “Then will you drive back yourself, Ziheng?”
“There’s no schedule tomorrow, right?” Zhou Ziheng took the keys, twirled them on his index finger, and said, “Don’t schedule anything for me this week. I have classes, and the midterm exams are coming up.”
Midterm exams? Xia Xiqing chuckled. Zhou Ziheng turned his head and glared at him, put the keys back in his pocket, and pushed Xiao Luo’s shoulder all the way to the building where the filming took place. He watched him get into the taxi, then turned to go to the underground garage, only to find Xia Xiqing following behind him.
“Why are you following me?” Zhou Ziheng, wearing a baseball cap and mask, spoke in a muffled voice, his hands stuffed into his pockets.
It was the early morning of April, and the air still carried a chill. It was a season of transition, much like their relationship.
Xia Xiqing mimicked him, stuffing his hands into his pockets, standing beside Zhou Ziheng, and nudging his shoulder with a smile. “Handsome guy, give me a ride home since you’re going that way.”
He emphasized the words “on the way” just to enjoy Zhou Ziheng’s adorable expression of panic.
Zhou Ziheng stepped back, his voice growing quieter, “Who’s going your way? Just call a taxi yourself.”
Watching Zhou Ziheng actually open the car door and not plan to give him a ride home, Xia Xiqing swayed in place for a moment, “But it’s so late now…”
“Are you afraid of danger?” Zhou Ziheng opened the car door and muttered under his breath, “You’re the one who’s dangerous, aren’t you?”
Xia Xiqing, who didn’t know that Zhou Ziheng had labeled him as a “terrorist,” grabbed the car door. “And it’s hard to get a ride here.”
Zhou Ziheng climbed into the car on his own. “You’ll eventually get one.”
“But you’re the one who got me into this mess. Don’t you, the top student, know the saying, ‘See it through to the end’?”
“I don’t know.”
Looking at Zhou Ziheng, who was as stubborn as a mule, Xia Xiqing sighed, “Fine. Then I’ll go back by myself.” After saying that, he turned around, hugged his arms pitifully, took a few steps, looked around the underground garage, and spoke softly.
“Oh my, it’s so dark here…”
“Get in the car, you’re driving me crazy.” Zhou Ziheng parked the car next to Xia Xiqing and opened the door for him.
I knew this moral exemplar wouldn’t leave him here.
Xia Xiqing got into the passenger seat with a half-smile on his face. He leaned over to close the door, and when he turned around, his vision suddenly darkened.
Zhou Ziheng, sitting in the driver’s seat, held the steering wheel with one hand and removed the black baseball cap from his head with the other, placing it on Xia Xiqing’s head before putting on the hood of his jacket.
Tilting his head, Xia Xiqing looked at Zhou Ziheng in a daze.
“Why are you looking at me? Fasten your seatbelt.”
Xia Xiqing suddenly remembered that the last time he pretended to be drunk was also in this car. He had taken advantage of the moment when Zhou Ziheng was fastening his seatbelt to hug him.
“Why does this car feel so familiar to me?” Xia Xiqing tugged at the seatbelt. “Really, I feel like I’ve dreamed of riding in your car before. It’s exactly this feeling.” While rambling on, he glanced sideways and saw Zhou Ziheng’s Adam’s apple twitch nervously.
How amusing.
“You’re just dreaming.” Zhou Ziheng tossed out the remark, turning the steering wheel with one hand. Xia Xiqing pressed down on the brim of his hat, recalling the moment Zhou Ziheng had put the hat on his head earlier, and spoke teasingly, “Did you give me this because you’re afraid of being photographed by paparazzi? You really don’t want anyone to know that I’m living with you, do you?”
“Who’s living with you?” Zhou Ziheng was about to lose his temper.
“Oh, no, no, I mean living next door.” Xia Xiqing looked at himself in the rearview mirror, gathered his hair at the back, and tied it into a small ponytail. “Hey, what do you think? If we really get photographed, won’t people think I’m a girl and cause some trouble for you? You’re immune to rumors.”
The last few words were clearly sarcastic, sounding less like a compliment for not being involved in gossip and more like a mockery of him being a “lifelong single.” Zhou Ziheng suddenly felt his pride was offended, so he started to argue back, “A girl? A girl who’s over 1.8 meters tall?”
“What’s wrong with being over 1.8 meters tall? Anyway, straight men only care about looks.“ Xia Xiqing turned his head to look at him, the corner of his left mouth curving slightly. ”My face isn’t exactly repulsive, is it?”
He leaned in close, and Zhou Ziheng suddenly felt embarrassed. He deliberately didn’t turn his head to look at him, staring straight ahead with a awkward tone, “Don’t disturb me while I’m driving.”
Xia Xiqing raised his eyebrows, raised both hands in a gesture of surrender, leaned back against the passenger seat, and rested his head against the car window, looking out. The streets were deserted at midnight, with only rows of lonely streetlights casting their light on the ground.
The car suddenly fell silent, and Zhou Ziheng couldn’t help but recall the scene from the last time he had driven Xia Xiqing back to the hotel. He had been tightly embraced by Xia Xiqing, his soft lips brushing against his neck.
He couldn’t put his finger on what was wrong, but Zhou Ziheng raised his hand to touch his neck.
That strange sensation felt like an aftereffect of an earthquake, lingering until now.
“Hey.”
Xia Xiqing’s voice suddenly rang out, startling Zhou Ziheng so much that his hand trembled, and his hair stood on end with guilt. “What… what are you doing?” He didn’t know what he was feeling guilty about, but every time he was alone with Xia Xiqing, he always felt uneasy.
“Why did you grab my hand?” Xia Xiqing was still leaning against the car window, the shadow under his hat brim obscuring his eyes, making it hard to see his exact expression. “When the light went out.”
His grip on the steering wheel tightened. After passing an intersection, Zhou Ziheng finally replied.
“Because you told me you’re afraid of the dark.” Zhou Ziheng’s tone was flat, without much inflection. “If it were someone else who confided their weakness to me, I would also be willing to protect them.”
True to his reputation as a moral exemplar.
The face beneath the brim of the hat gave a cold smile.
“So, by the same token, the rhetorical question at the end of your interview tonight was also for the same reason?”
Zhou Ziheng paused, “Yes.”
Indeed, if someone else had been questioned in such a way, Zhou Ziheng would have certainly challenged them, as his personality prevented him from ignoring such biased or disrespectful behavior. But he had indeed lied.
The hand reaching out in the darkness was not driven by a desire to protect everyone equally. But he still couldn’t define what that “subconscious” moment was, so he could only deceive himself for now.
The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy, and Xia Xiqing no longer spoke. This made Zhou Ziheng’s chest feel tight. In truth, he had many questions he wanted to ask him, such as why he had agreed to come shoot the magazine, why he didn’t continue to press him on why he had changed his mind and not come to pick him up personally.
And why he was afraid of the dark.
But he didn’t want to ask. This moment was as delicate as two people playing a childish game, sitting face to face, staring at each other.
Whoever blinked first would lose.
After meeting Xia Xiqing, Zhou Ziheng became unusually competitive and didn’t want to be the one to blink first.
They returned to their apartment building in silence, getting out of the elevator one after the other and walking into the top-floor hallway. Xia Xiqing walked ahead, stretching lazily as he prepared to unlock his door.
“Hey,” Zhou Ziheng’s voice rang out from behind him, “give me back my hat.”
Xia Xiqing turned around, leaning against the door with a mischievous smile, and uttered a single word.
“No.”
Zhou Ziheng frowned. “You’re such a scoundrel.”
“You’ve seen me before,” Xia Xiqing walked toward him, his voice softening, “What, you’re just now realizing I’m stubborn?” After speaking, Xia Xiqing leaned in close, raising his eyes to look up at Zhou Ziheng’s. Zhou Ziheng, wearing a mask, impatiently looked away and reached out to take his hat back, but Xia Xiqing grabbed his wrist.
“Do you want it?” Xia Xiqing raised an eyebrow. “I can give it to you, but I want something in exchange.”
Zhou Ziheng shook off his hand, his eyes cold and hard. “This is my thing. What gives you the right to demand a condition?”
“I never distinguish whose things are whose. Anyway, whatever I want, it will eventually be mine.” Xia Xiqing gave a beautiful smile, placing his hand on Zhou Ziheng’s shoulder. “I’m taking the condition now.”
As soon as he finished speaking, his hand reached down and grabbed Zhou Ziheng’s coat collar, kissing him through the mask.
Xia Xiqing, who had been half-closing his eyes, raised them slightly. His mesmerizing almond-shaped eyes, filled with a smile, locked directly into Zhou Ziheng’s gaze. Unlike the first intense and forceful kiss, this time, through the thin mask, their soft lips pressed tightly together.
Just as Zhou Ziheng was about to regain consciousness, Xia Xiqing slightly parted his lips and gently bit Zhou Ziheng’s lips through the mask.
Though it lasted no more than ten seconds, every movement seemed to be played in slow motion, frame by frame. His clean, pure face, long eyelashes, and the mole on his nose—every detail was etched into his memory.
Xia Xiqing, smiling with a crooked mouth, took off the baseball cap he was wearing and placed it on Zhou Ziheng’s head.
“Deal.”
He turned around and returned to his own home decisively.
The game had reached its end, and his eyes were sore and swollen, almost unable to endure any longer. Finally, he could no longer endure it.
He clenched his fist and slammed it against the door behind him. Zhou Ziheng impatiently took off his hat and turned back to his own home. What annoyed him was that Xia Xiqing could always effortlessly break through the defenses he had painstakingly built up. No matter how much effort he put in, he had to admit it.
He was still the one who blinked first.
For several days after the magazine shoot, Xia Xiqing didn’t encounter Zhou Ziheng, nor did he reach out to him. To avoid involving him, Xia Xiqing specifically “asked” Xia Zhixu to hack the hallway’s security cameras, with the condition that he would pay for a DSLR camera in the second semester of his sophomore year and use it to take a series of rare high school photos for Xu Qichen.
Two days ago, the magazine cover was released early, and the official Weibo account was very savvy, directly posting both versions of the cover and adding the text—“A double issue deserves a double cover. Which one do you choose, A or B?”
[Self-study makes me happy]: I’ll answer this question—Tsinghua or Peking University.
[Self-study isn’t popular, it’s against the laws of nature]: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
[Hengheng, the Most Dominant in History]: Hengheng in the first version is such a refined yet rebellious divine Alpha! The scent of his pheromones is making me faint!
[Xia Xiqing, the First Lady of the Entire Internet]: Holy crap, holy crap! The first version is the tortured beauty, and the second version is the spoiled queen! Life without Xia Xiqing is meaningless!
[Strawberry-Flavored Gummy Candy]: As a casual observer, these two covers are really well done. No wonder Lin Mo was the director. The two of them are so expressive. I don’t know which one to choose! I usually prefer the refined, debauched type, but after seeing the second version, I’m starting to waver between the little wolf dog and the queen. This CP vibe is terrifying…
[I’m Super A]: Same here, even as a die-hard fan, I want to ship them for a second. This terrifying CP vibe.
[Sweatswish]: I used to not understand why this self-study CP was always trending on the hot search list, but now I get it and even feel a little heartflutter. #This is probably the “it’s actually good” theory.
[KKK I’m a Little Angel]: I’m just a casual observer, but I genuinely feel like all the脆皮鸭 novels I’ve read before now have faces…
[Friend, Want to Invest?]: The bloodstains on Zhou Ziheng’s face and Xia Xiqing’s wounds—I’ve already imagined a 100,000-word novel, the kind with explicit content!!! The second version too!! There’s no nudity at all, but it still makes you feel the overwhelming desire and hormones. What kind of divine CP is this?!
[The Younger Attacker Who Conquers the Entire Internet]: First version — “The dead will never leave me again.” Second version — “You’re just my dog.” #On the malleability of divine CPs
[The Self-Study Girl Who Never Gives Up]: Didn’t anyone notice that the handcuffs in the first edition resemble the scene in Escape Room where Xi Qing is initialized in the room? It fulfilled my imagination while watching the show! The style of this issue of the magazine is truly captivating, with its black, white, and red color scheme and gothic backdrop. I’m genuinely moved to tears.
[I Love Self-Study]: Seeing these two covers, my first reaction was, “Could this be real?” Oh my god, please let this be real! These two are so perfect together 5555.
…
It’s real. Xia Xiqing chuckled softly.
Maybe.
Suddenly, he received a WeChat message from Jiang Yin.
[Jiang Yin]: Xiqing, the magazine asked you to help promote it. Just repost the official Weibo post.
Xia Xiqing didn’t really want to help, but when he returned to the Weibo interface, he found that Zhou Ziheng had already reposted it.
[Zhou Ziheng]: A.
The fans below were also going crazy retweeting.
[Hengheng is so A]: Ahhhhh, the main character is here!
[I’m so into Zhou Ziheng every day]: Is that a double entendre? Hahaha—I chose A, and I’m the most A.
Xia Xiqing, who had previously been reluctant to help boost the hype, immediately reposted that Weibo post.
[Tsing_Summer]: I choose B.
Seeing both main characters appear together, the CP fans went wild. The comments came in at an unimaginable speed.
[Self-Study is the Best]: Oh my god, hold on to my self-study treasure! The choices of these two always give me a subtle sense of inevitability, hahaha.
[I Want to Study]: I get you! It feels like a battle for dominance!
[Who Says It Isn’t]: Hahahaha, once you accept this setting…
[Cotton Candy on the Clouds]: The two of them posted on Weibo at almost the same time, as if they had planned it. Could they be together now? [Just a wild guess]
[Peking University’s Little Salted Fish]: No, Zhou Ziheng is currently studying in the library. I’m sitting two rows behind him, and it seems he’s struggling with the midterm exam just like me.
[Self-study girls never give up]: Hahahaha Zhou Ziheng is studying right now, hahaha, what’s wrong with my sense of humor?
[Maybe you like studying?]: Studying, hahahaha
[Zhou Ziheng and Xia Xiqing are locked]: The main characters are teaching you how to properly ship CPs, hahaha
…
What kind of silly girls are these?
WeChat beeped again. Xia Xiqing opened it and saw that it was Xia Xiuze.
[Xiao Ze]: Brother!!!! I don’t have class tonight, can I come over to play with you!
[Xiao Ze]: Why isn’t my brother replying to me.jpg
[Xiao Ze]: Looking at you with eager eyes.jpg
[Xiao Ze]: Testing the edge of ecstasy.jpg
Where did this guy get all these weird emoticons? Xia Xiqing was about to coldly reject him when a call came in. He answered it without even looking at it.
“I don’t have time for that…”
“Hello, Xiqing.”
Huh? It’s not Xia Xiuze? Xia Xiqing looked at the phone and saw that it was his former assistant instructor. He cleared his throat and greeted him politely, “Hello, teacher. Is something wrong?”
“Oh, I heard from Smith that you’ve returned to the country. I won’t beat around the bush with you. Come quickly and help me out. I have a sculpture exhibition coming up soon, and a few students are unreliable. If you don’t have anything important to do, come over and help me.”
Xia Xiqing frowned. He hated helping others out of a bind, but every time something like this happened, he was the one who had to step in.
“Teacher, I’ve been pretty busy lately…”
The professor started talking about the location without waiting for him to finish. “P University Art Academy. Hurry up!”
Wait, P University?
“Alright.” Xia Xiqing agreed decisively, “I’ll contact you when I arrive.”
When he got in the car and turned on the navigation system, he realized that P University was so close to where he lived. It only took less than ten minutes by car to get there. No wonder Zhou Ziheng bought a house here—it was a school district property. After parking the car, Xia Xiqing put on a mask and entered the campus. Along the way, he felt like someone was watching him, and as he walked on, he realized it wasn’t just his imagination. A group of young girls were openly recording videos with their phones.
Wait, he didn’t even know he had become this famous.
“Is that Xiqing?” A young girl approached him shyly, “It’s Xiqing, right?”
At this point, Xia Xiqing couldn’t keep pretending anymore. He smiled gently at her while wearing his mask, then quickened his pace.
“Holy crap, it’s really Xia Xiqing! It’s the real thing!!”
“He’s so handsome, so gentle.”
Zhou Ziheng, who was studying in the library, suddenly felt a commotion around him. He pulled off one earbud, turned his head, and saw that the girls in the back row were all holding their phones.
He frowned, pressed down on the brim of his hat, and put his earbuds back on to solve the problem.
What the hell.
His best friend Zhao Ke, sitting next to him, nudged his shoulder. “Hey, Ziheng.”
“What’s wrong?” Zhou Ziheng took off his earbuds again and looked at him with a puzzled expression.
To his surprise, Zhao Ke had a look of amusement on his face as he held his phone in front of him. “Holy crap, look, your CP is here!”
Zhou Ziheng rolled his eyes in exasperation, “Get lost, your CP…” His hand holding the headphones suddenly froze.
“What did you say?!”
