After wrapping up his new boxing-themed film, Zhou Ziheng took an extended break at home. He had already been largely absent from the set during filming, and with his vacation time factored in, fans hadn’t seen any fresh updates on Zhou Ziheng for nearly months. Xia Xiqing’s situation was even more scarce—fans could only occasionally catch a glimpse of him at art galleries, with almost no public appearances at all.
So the self-taught girls took matters into their own hands online, relentlessly trending the hashtag [Kneeling to Beg for the Self-Taught CP Reunion]. Clicking into the topic revealed a flood of fan-made adorable memes, fan art, and video edits. With no official updates, fans had to entertain themselves.
The two main characters weren’t exactly thrilled at home either. With paparazzi hounding them lately, neither wanted to go out. For the first two days of their vacation, Zhou Ziheng and Xia Xiqing spent their time cuddling and sleeping. The next few days were filled with watching movies and TV shows. Eventually, they ran out of things to do—they were practically ready to hold a swimming competition in the living room.
Zhou Ziheng, cross-legged on the sofa scrolling through Weibo, suddenly jumped up when he spotted the trending topic “Self-Study Girl,” startling Xia Xiqing, who was dozing off.
“What the hell?” Xia Xiqing rubbed his eyes lazily, ready to roll over and sleep again. But Zhou Ziheng forcefully turned him over. “No more sleep, baby.” He thrust his phone in front of Xia Xiqing. “Look, the organization is calling us!”
Xia Xiqing glanced at it, then closed his eyes again, trying to pull Zhou Ziheng back beside him. “The organization wants you to sleep with me. Lie down.”
Zhou Ziheng was momentarily speechless. This wouldn’t do. Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck him. He immediately pulled Xia Xiqing up, coaxing him awake with sweet talk. After more persuasion, he convinced Xia to agree to join him in making a surprise appearance in their fan group.
“If you put half the energy you spend on public displays of affection into your acting, you’d have won Best Actor by age six,” Xia Xiqing couldn’t resist teasing.
Zhou Ziheng couldn’t care less about Xia Xiqing’s sarcasm. He cheerfully logged into his secondary Weibo account and opened his fan group. Inside, they seemed to be buzzing with excitement, discussing how to get Zixi to make an appearance.
[Heatwave Fireworks: I miss Zixi so much 15551! I want to see fresh content from Brother Xiqing and fresh content from Hengheng!]
[Ink Rain Like Painting: What else would two twenty-something guys do locked indoors day after day? Obviously, things best left unsaid.]
[Thousand Rivers Moon 0v0: Ahhh don’t even mention it, I WANT TO SEE!!!]
[Sweet and Sour Surrender: I WANT TO SEE TOO!!! PLEASE LIVE STREAM!!!!]
Xia Xiqing yanked Zhou Ziheng’s wrist, glanced at his phone screen, and snorted, “See what I mean?”
Zhou Ziheng pulled his wrist free. “But there are also tons who just want to see us appear~ It’s not like they only want to see that stuff…”
“And you’re embarrassed about it?” Xia Xiqing couldn’t comprehend it. “Why weren’t you embarrassed when you were shoving it in so hard, huh…”
Before he could finish, Zhou Ziheng—his ears flushed crimson—forcefully covered his mouth.
Xia Xiqing’s eyes widened. Moments later, like a playful kitten, he extended his tongue and licked Zhou Ziheng’s palm. Too tempting. Zhou Ziheng pulled his hand away and lowered his head to distract himself, but accidentally typed an “Ah” in the fan group chat—and accidentally sent it.
That single “Ah” sent ripples through the entire group.
[HotSpring Sauce: AAAAAAAAAAH IT’S HENGHENG!!]
[Akira: AAAAAAAAAAAA He just dropped in!!!]
[Rose & Deer Cookies: AAAAAAAAA Is it really Hengheng?!]
[No Ice, 30% Sweetness: AAAAAAAA Hengheng, Mom loves you!! Come see Mom!!]
[Nicknames Are So Important AAAAA: Holy crap! !! My Hengheng Mama is here!!! Is your daughter-in-law beside you? Mama misses her!!!]
The fan group erupted like someone had disturbed a groundhog’s burrow, but the person involved, Zhou Ziheng, felt a bit down. After all, this entrance was anything but cool.
Xia Xiqing glanced at his phone and chuckled, “Are you the commander here? Just send one message—thousands of self-study girls are following your lead.”
Zhou Ziheng remained silent, sending another rose emoji to the group.
[Huang Xiaodou shy: Waaah little rose!! How can Hengheng be so sweet!]
[PinkJellyGreen: Where’s my little rose!! I need to see my little rose!]
Not long after.
[Tsing_Summer: Hello, everyone.]
[StudyGirlsCharge: AAAAAAAA Little Rose is here!]
[DidYouStudyToday: Little Rose’s voice is so sweet!! Hello~ Mommy loves you!]
[Did Hengheng Show Up Today?: ZZH just sent a Little Rose emoji and XQGG appeared—what kind of divine couple is this!]
“Hey, weren’t you the one who wanted to show up in the fan group? Why aren’t you saying anything now that you’re here?” Xia Xiqing nudged Zhou Ziheng’s side with his foot. “Say something else.”
“I haven’t thought of what to say.”
Xia Xiqing laughed so hard he fell back onto the sofa.
Just then, the fan group’s energy was already building.
[Study Buddies Are the Best: Hengheng, we want to see the livestream!!!!]
[Self-Study Enthusiast Girl: YES!!!! I want a live stream!! A duo live stream!!!]
[Entertainment Industry’s Cutest: Live stream!! Live stream!! Live stream!! [Drumming hands·jpg]
By the time Zhou Ziheng snapped back to reality, both of them were being frantically tagged by fans, who were clamoring for a live stream in the group chat. Zhou Ziheng had been considering a livestream anyway. Now, with the noble excuse of spoiling fans, he could naturally drag Xia Xiqing into co-hosting with him.
Xia Xiqing might be a bit tsundere on the surface, but deep down, he also loved spoiling fans. After Zhou Ziheng’s persistent coaxing, he finally relented, “Just one hour. Any longer and I’m outta here.”
“No problem!”
After setting up the equipment, Zhou Ziheng opened his livestream. Too many fans flooded in at once, causing both the chat and video feed to freeze. Xia Xiqing seized the moment to grab a large box of ice cream. He returned to the living room and plopped down on the sofa, while Zhou Ziheng sat on the carpet, fiddling with the computer and camera.
“Finally working…”
[Aaaaaah! Hengheng’s close-up beauty attack!!!]
[Aaaaaah! My boy’s eyes and brows are just too perfect!]
[I spotted Xqgg!!! Xqgg is sitting on the sofa behind him!!]
[Holy crap, what did I just notice!! Couple loungewear!!! !!]
[It’s true!!! Sis, you’re amazing!!!]
[They really are matching!! Xqgg looks so good in gray-green!!]
Zhou Ziheng picked up the glasses from the table and put them on, delivering a simple opening line, “Good evening, everyone.”
[Good evening, babies!!!]
[Aaaah Hengheng looks so incredibly handsome in glasses!!]
Eyes fixed on the screen, Zhou Ziheng reached back and placed his hand on Xia Xiqing’s knee, giving it a gentle rub. Xia Xiqing then got up from the sofa and sat side-by-side with Zhou Ziheng on the carpet, a small spoon in his mouth as he tilted his chin toward the camera.
[OMG this chemistry]
[I absolutely love these intimate little gestures between them—so real and so sweet.]
[xqgg is just too gorgeous X10086]
Zhou Ziheng bent one leg, resting his arm on his knee. “We’ve been on set filming for ages—it’s been forever since we last saw each other. Since everyone’s been dying to watch our livestream, we figured we might as well oblige while we’ve got nothing else going on.” He glanced sideways at Xia Xiqing. “Right, Xiqing?”
[Waaah so sweet, everything they do right now is so sweet I can’t handle it]
[I could watch this kind of everyday life forever!!!]
“Don’t listen to his nonsense.” Xia Xiqing scooped another spoonful of ice cream. “I wonder who was the one begging me for half an hour to do this live stream.”
Just as Zhou Ziheng opened his mouth to speak, Xia Xiqing stuffed his mouth with ice cream while laughing. “Zhou Ziheng, you’re such a troublemaker. How come you’re so bold now but won’t own up to it?” He patted Zhou Ziheng’s cheek playfully. “You used to be so well-behaved.”
[OMG NOOOOOOOOO]
[xqgg has Zhenheng wrapped around his finger hahaha]
[So how desperate was zzh to stream? hahaha]
[Please verify his alt account, bio: Live-Streaming PDA Blogger]
[Live-Streaming PDA hahaha]
“Anyway, this livestream came together super suddenly, so brace yourselves—it might be pretty empty content-wise.”
Xia Xiqing nodded in agreement. “If you guys want to see anything specific, drop it in the comments. Who knows, I might just take the bait.”
[Boss Xiqing, spoiling fans online!]
[Want to see you two go crazy…【Minor Warning】]
[Crazy hahaha, sis, you’re probably a werewolf!!]
[Hengheng is gonna drop his catchphrase again!]
Zhou Ziheng saw that comment and immediately straightened up, “The internet is not a lawless zone!”
[Hahahaha knew it!!]
[Standard ending hahahaha]
[zzh, please, I’m begging you, stay away from these ridiculous netizens! Cut back on internet time and fanfic reading!]
[Hahahaha dug up the fanfic black history again haha]
[Poor Hengheng, so poor]
[Why not make Hengheng read fanfiction aloud? Hahahaha!!]
[Brilliant!!! Public execution is genius!! Sis, how did you come up with this?!]
The momentum kept building. What started as Zhou Ziheng’s issue soon dragged Xia Xiqing—who’d been quietly eating ice cream nearby—into the fray. Suddenly, the comments were clamoring for both of them to read fanfiction aloud. Zhou Ziheng tentatively suggested.
Xia Xiqing frowned. “Who’s ‘us’? You read it yourself.”
Zhou Ziheng deliberately bumped his shoulder. “Oh~ I knew you wouldn’t dare.”
“Wait, who wouldn’t dare? I just can’t be bothered to stoop to your level, you little brat.”
[Ahhhhhhhhh what kind of divine nickname is “little guy”!!!]
[My ship is so sweet even when they’re bickering!!]
[Ziqing and Xiqing are totally in mutual pampering mode.]
“Then you really don’t dare.”
“What if I do dare?”
“Do whatever you want!”
“Fine.” Xia Xiqing set his ice cream on the table and rolled up his sleeves. “You said it.”
Seeing his bait work, Zhou Ziheng nearly burst out laughing but managed to stifle it. “Right, my word is my bond.”
Driven by this inexplicable competitive streak, Xia Xiqing agreed to read fanfiction aloud with Zhou Ziheng. Fans recommended several “divine works” from the fandom in the comments, thoughtfully tagging both protagonists on Weibo.
[Truth be told, this is my first time tagging the real people in a comment lololol]
[Who isn’t? lololol]
[This has to be a dream lol, my ship’s reading fanfic to me live!!]
Xia Xiqing randomly clicked on one of the tagged posts. This one didn’t seem to be the first chapter—probably a serialized chapter from Weibo, and it was pretty popular.
Zhou Ziheng glanced at him. “You’re so fast, you didn’t even pick one?”
“What’s there to pick? Self-Study Girl only recommends the best stuff.”
[xqgg is way too good at this!!]
[Ahhhhhhh I got praised by my couple!!!]
Xia Xiqing cleared his throat, crossed his legs, and prepared to begin reading.
“Xia Xiqing stood up…” He nearly burst out laughing. “Wait, reading my own name feels so weird.”
“NG! Take two.” Zhou Ziheng clapped his hands together, mimicking a clapperboard. “Action!”
“Xia Xiqing stood before Zhou Ziheng. He extended his slender index finger, lifting Zhou Ziheng’s chin…” Reading from his phone with utmost professionalism, Xia Xiqing mimicked the scene described in the text. He used his index finger to lift Zhou Ziheng’s chin, gazed into his eyes, and delivered the scripted line, “Don’t you want to kiss me?”
After speaking, the two silently stared at each other for three seconds before suddenly bursting into laughter face-to-face, completely cracking up on set.
[Hahahahaha What kind of massive embarrassment scene is this?]
[It’s genuinely both cringy and sweet hahaha, laughing so hard my head fell off]
[Hengheng trying to stifle his laughter is too adorable!!]
[This line is hilarious when spoken out loud!!]
“You’re so dramatic!” Zhou Ziheng accused, laughing.
“Who’s being dramatic? Seriously, that’s how the character’s written. There’s a whole paragraph after this.” Xia Xiqing flipped through the script, then half-protestingly placed the phone on the table. Suppressing a laugh, he addressed the camera, “I have zero complaints about the writer’s skill, but one thing’s for sure—I’d never say lines like this.”
Zhou Ziheng nodded in complete agreement. “Exactly.”
“I usually just go for the kiss.”
“Ahem! Ahem ahem…” The words made Zhou Ziheng cough violently.
[HAHAHAHAHA Xiqing is so Xiqing!]
[So manly!]
[Forced kiss hahaha, truly someone who acts instead of talking!]
[zzh got startled hahaha]
Xia Xiqing turned his head, patting Zhou Ziheng’s back with a mischievous grin. “Did that remind you of some not-so-pleasant memories?”
Zhou Ziheng forced a smile. “No, it was actually pretty nice.”
[Why are these two suddenly playing charades?!]
[So zzh was forcibly kissed by xqgg!!!! It must be true!! This innocent little schoolboy!!]
“Our first kiss was my idea. Back then, I just went straight for it… Mmm! Mmm mmm…”
Xia Xiqing’s mouth was covered again by Zhou Ziheng.
[Crazy mouth-covering hahaha]
[The innocent kid top has lost all dignity!]
[Holy shit, the first kiss was forced by XQGG!!! XQGG is so badass!! ! [Voice cracking]]
[Holy crap, reality is a hundred times more thrilling than fanfic!!!]
To change the subject, Zhou Ziheng quickly picked a story to read aloud. “Um, I’m going to read this.” He cleared his throat. “From a very young age, Zhou Ziheng had feelings for his older brother… Older brother!??”
Xia Xiqing nearly sprayed water all over the screen.
“Brother? What the hell?” Zhou Zijin, sitting in his office, sneezed.
“Wait, why would I like my own brother??”
[Hahahahaha zzh is freaking out inside]
[This is a bone-related setting, my child!!]
[Too wholesome haha straight into incest]
“Incest?” Veteran netizen Zhou Ziheng suddenly snapped to attention, “German orthopedics?”
[dei!!!]
[Exactly German orthopedics!!]
Xia Xiqing shot him a disgusted glance. “How do you know everything?”
Zhou Ziheng took it as a compliment. “That’s right.” Then he urged, “Go on, go on.”
“When Zhou Ziheng first met his half-brother Xia Xiqing, he was only five years old. He stood timidly at the doorway, gazing at his older brother—already entering adolescence, handsome and tall.”
Reading this, he suddenly felt a pang of annoyance. “Ugh, I come off way too weak in this story.”
Xia Xiqing grinned widely, leaning on the coffee table and tilting his head at him. “You are five years younger than me, after all. When you were just tagging along, I was already the Pioneer Corps captain, okay?”
[Hahahahaha Pioneer Corps captain hahahaha]
[The little soy sauce-buying fluffball Hengheng is just too adorable!!]
Zhou Ziheng pouted unhappily and continued reading, “For many years afterward, he remembered the cold, distant expression on his brother’s face when they first met.”
“Hmm, this part actually feels pretty realistic,” Xia Xiqing suddenly chimed in. “Suddenly having a little brother appear out of nowhere? That’s exactly how I reacted.”
Your friend Xia Xiuze sneezed online.
Zhou Ziheng shook his head, skipped several paragraphs, and jumped straight to the dialogue to begin his performance. He grabbed Xia Xiqing’s right shoulder. “Brother!”
He really got into character in a second. Xia Xiqing’s mouth twitched.
Zhou Ziheng’s brows furrowed, his eyes filled with complex emotions. “Brother… I have something to tell you.”
[Holy crap, the Oscar-winning actor is online!!!]
[Holy crap, I actually get to watch my idol act out a fanfic in real life!!! Holy shit!!!!]
“What is it?” Xia Xiqing prompted smoothly.
“You…” Zhou Ziheng’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he lowered his eyes. “Do you… really like that girl from yesterday? She said… she said she’s your girlfriend.”
Xia Xiqing raised an eyebrow. “So what if I do?”
[Ahhhhh xqgg so hot!!!]
Zhou Ziheng’s emotions flared instantly. He tossed his phone aside and grabbed Xia Xiqing’s shoulders with both hands. “I won’t allow it!”
[Wow!!! Holy crap, I’m getting goosebumps]
[Phone: What did I do wrong?]
“None of your business.” Xia Xiqing pried his hands away.
“It is my business! I… I won’t let you date her! You can’t even be friends!” Zhou Ziheng’s emotions turned extreme. He suddenly hugged Xia Xiqing tightly. “You’re mine! Only mine!”
Xia Xiqing felt a dull ache in his chest from the impact. Seeing how deeply Zhou Ziheng was immersed in the role, he had no choice but to play along. He pushed back naturally, “You’re crazy. Let go of me.”
Zhou Ziheng only tightened his grip. “I’m not crazy! I’m perfectly lucid!” His voice began to tremble. Basic acting instincts kicked in, and he reverted to the lines from the novel he’d just read. “Don’t even think about leaving me! I like you. Can’t you see that I like you?”
“You—”
“You know it! You know better than anyone that I love you with my whole heart, more than anyone else in this world.” Zhou Ziheng held him tightly. “Brother, I can’t stand seeing you laugh with others. I really can’t. Didn’t you say you’d always do what’s best for me?” He gripped Xia Xiqing’s shoulders, staring into his eyes. “Please, I’m suffering so much. I think about you like a madman every single day. Could you just…”
Xia Xiqing knew exactly what the next line would be. He lowered his eyes. “No.”
Zhou Ziheng suddenly kissed him. Caught completely off guard, Xia Xiqing was genuinely startled, his shock entirely genuine.
The kiss was fierce but brief. Xia Xiqing pushed him away. “What the hell?!”
Zhou Ziheng wiped his lips, panting.
“You’re mine alone. Brother.”
Xia Xiqing was utterly stunned by Zhou Ziheng’s performance. The thought of them kissing live on camera made his blood rush, his ears burning. He grabbed a throw pillow from the sofa and hurled it at Zhou Ziheng. “If I ever let you get away with this again, I’ll spell my name backwards!”
Zhou Ziheng caught the pillow with a cocky grin. “Xia Qingxi. Sounds pretty good to me.”
After hurling the pillow, Xia Xiqing glanced at the screen—completely flooded with fan comments.
[AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
[AAAAAAAAAAAAA I’M GOING CRAZY I’M SCREAMING I’M RUNNING!!! Xi Girls are celebrating the New Year today!!!]
[That last line was so A!!! Holy crap, kneel before Hengheng!!]
[Even if the local groundhog is in a coffin today, it’d still shout: Bone-level romance is the best!!! Xi is the best!!!]
[Holy shit, that was a full-on makeout session!!! Who saw it clearly, you sharp-eyed sisters?! Did Zzh stick out his tongue?!]
[Three soul-searching questions: Did he stick out his tongue? Did he stick out his tongue??? Did he stick out his tongue?????]
Holy crap, what kind of fans are these? Xia Xiqing is kicking himself now. This is definitely trending again.
But then Zhou Ziheng tilted his mouth and declared without a hint of shame, “I did.”
Then he bumped Xia Xiqing’s shoulder and leaned close to his ear.
“Did you feel it, big bro?”
