The box office for Stalker continued to climb on the back of word-of-mouth buzz, shattering previous records for heavy-themed dramas and becoming a phenomenon-level film widely discussed by netizens. The two leads, Jiang Tong and Gao Kun, in particular, became new targets for fan creation, with many top-tier fan artists producing numerous fan comics.
Xia Xiqing, whose day job is drawing, browsed the fan art online daily and found it fascinating, yet he never forgot his mission. After holing up at home drawing all day, he finally finished the fan福利 he’d promised during his last livestream. Xia Xiqing posted a giveaway on Weibo, attaching photos of the artwork he’d snapped. Whether they were Xia Xiqing solo fans, self-shipping CP fans, or movie enthusiasts, everyone went wild retweeting the post—it hit ten thousand retweets in minutes.
By the day of the giveaway, the post had surpassed one hundred thousand retweets.
“What do you think—should I personally frame the painting? But I worry it might be inconvenient to mail once framed.” Xia Xiqing accepted a glass of kiwi juice handed by Zhou Ziheng, took a sip, and immediately scrunched his face. “So sour. It’s killing me.”
“Let me try.” Hearing Zhou Ziheng say this, Xia Xiqing immediately handed the cup back. Unexpectedly, Zhou Ziheng grabbed the collar of his sweater, pulled him close, and kissed him. Caught off guard once again, Xia Xiqing truly felt his status as a seasoned romantic was in jeopardy.
“It’s pretty sweet,” Zhou Ziheng murmured, suppressing a laugh as he leaned against Xia Xiqing.
Xia Xiqing wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “With such a big sofa, you had to squeeze in next to me. Are you deliberately trying to make things difficult for me?” The more Xia Xiqing complained, the more excited Zhou Ziheng became. He stretched out both arms and pulled Xia Xiqing tightly into his embrace. “It’s fine, it’s fine. We’re going to be like this for the rest of our lives.”
The words made Xia Xiqing’s face flush. He pushed with one hand but couldn’t budge him, so he gave up moving and let himself be held. “Hey, did you hear what I said earlier?”
“The raffle for the painting?” Zhou Ziheng pouted. “You spoil those fans way too much. When are you going to spoil me?”
Like I don’t spoil you enough? I’ve been fucking the bottom for love, okay?
“Then I won’t frame it.” Xia Xiqing leaned back into Zhou Ziheng’s embrace, resting his head against his collarbone as he comfortably propped himself against him to play with his phone.
“I want to go on a trip,” Zhou Ziheng suddenly said. “We’ve never traveled together.”
Xia Xiqing replied while scrolling through comments. “Everywhere we go, people stare at us like we’re monkeys. They whip out their phones and snap photos nonstop. I don’t want to go out.”
“We could go abroad,” Zhou Ziheng murmured, his fingers gently pinching Xia Xiqing’s earlobes. “Tahiti? Do you like the ocean?”
Xia Xiqing didn’t respond, still engrossed in his phone. This made Zhou Ziheng a little unhappy. “Stop looking at your phone.” He cupped Xia Xiqing’s face with both hands, forcing him to look up. “Look at me.”
This position reminded Xia Xiqing of the last livestream when Zhou Ziheng had walked in and kissed him. His heart fluttered, and he found himself tilting his head back to stare into those deep, piercing eyes.
Zhou Ziheng saw Xia Xiqing blink and was about to speak when Xia Xiqing suddenly leaned in and kissed him right there. Then he rolled over and flopped onto one end of the sofa, smiling sweetly. “I can take you somewhere.”
He didn’t say “go with you,” but “take you.” Zhou Ziheng found it a bit odd. “Where?”
“A good place.” Xia Xiqing grinned mischievously, propping his bare feet on Zhou Ziheng’s chest and swinging them back and forth with a playful kick. “You coming?”
Zhou Ziheng didn’t say anything, so Xia Xiqing kicked harder, laughing like a thoroughly mischievous fox. Zhou Ziheng seized his ankle and slowly massaged it twice, kneading the rounded bone through the thin layer of pale skin. As Xia Xiqing watched him lift his foot upward, he instinctively straightened his leg. Leaning his head back, he smiled and hooked Zhou Ziheng’s chin with his toes.
That single gesture wiped the soft smile from Zhou Ziheng’s face. He yanked Xia Xiqing’s foot abruptly, pulling the young man—who’d been resting his head on the sofa—down with him. They crashed onto the cushions, Xia Xiqing’s knees landing on Zhou Ziheng’s shoulders when he released him.
Zhou Ziheng’s hand slid down his thigh as he looked at Xia Xiqing with a half-smile. “I like this position.”
Xia Xiqing, now lying down, laughed along. “Looks like I found your switch.”
The switch that turned him from a puppy into a wolf.
During his vacation, Zhou Ziheng cooked up new dishes for Xia Xiqing every day. At first, Xia Xiqing would sneak into the kitchen to help him out. But after cracking eggshells into the bowl three times in a row while beating eggs, Zhou Ziheng never let him into the kitchen again.
“Ah, time for the giveaway results.” Xia Xiqing muttered to himself as he walked to the dining room, pulled out a chair, sat down, and checked the Weibo giveaway results.
The Weibo giveaway platform automatically posted the list of winners, and the ID name of the selected one seemed odd.
“I hate Murphy’s Law… What the hell kind of ID name is that?”
Could he have drawn a fake follower? Xia Xiqing frowned and clicked on the ID. At first glance, it seemed unremarkable, but when he saw the profile picture, he froze.
The photo showed fingers pressed together, with a small black rose drawn in marker on the inside of the ring finger.
This… this couldn’t be…
He snapped his head up, leaning over the table to look at Zhou Ziheng in the kitchen. He’d just doodled it casually back then—the only person who could have photographed it was Zhou Ziheng.
Damn. Could this be Zhou Ziheng’s alternate account…?
Is this giveaway platform cursed or something?
His phone lay abandoned on the dining table. Xia Xiqing sat hunched on his chair, agonizing for a full minute before deciding to delete the Weibo post. He’d pretend nothing happened and enter the giveaway again.
Yes, that’s the plan.
When Xia Xiqing reopened Weibo, the winning post had already racked up over a thousand comments and was nearing a thousand reposts. Without even glancing at them, he deleted it immediately. He skipped any explanatory posts and proceeded straight to the second round of the giveaway. Fortunately, this time the winner was an ordinary fan with the ID [When Are Xia Xiqing and Zhou Ziheng Getting Married?]—clearly a CP shipper.
Having weathered a storm in just one minute, Xia Xiqing promptly reposted the winning announcement.
[@Tsing_Summer: Congratulations to this little friend! Please DM me your address and contact info. Thanks for everyone’s participation~]
The comment section was quickly flooded.
[@BoxOfSweets: Wait, Xiqing-gege, he wasn’t the first winner!]
[@TrashHuman replies to @BoxOfSweets: Yep! I saw it too and even screenshotted it! Why was it deleted later? [Share Image]]
[@SelfStudyGirlGoGo: Feeling so jealous today… But congrats anyway! This little angel is so lucky.]
[@A Girl Named Mingji replies to @TrashHuman: This person’s ID is so cute haha. Why hate the Law of Lengqi? Are you a poor student or something? Hahaha.]
[@Self-Study Today replies to @TrashHuman: This profile pic… why does it look so familiar?]
[@Mumu the Sturgeon replies to @TrashHuman: Ahhh this profile pic! I remember when Ziheng attended an event, he had a rose like this on his hand too! Let me find the photo! I saw it!]
[@Salted Milk Tea Ovaltine: Ziheng fans, whisper this quietly—it looks like Ziheng also had a little rose like this on his hand, on the ring finger of his palm side.]
[@MumuMumumum: AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
[@Self-Study Manman replies to @Mumu: Holy crap, this tattoo matches that profile pic exactly! Just different colors—one black, one red.]
[@Self-Study Girl Soaring replies to @Mumu: Sis, you hit the nail on the head!!! So is this account actually Ziheng’s…?]
[@Self-Study Girl Never Gives Up replies to @Self-Study Girl Soaring High: Sis, we’re on the same page!! That’s why Brother Xiqing deleted the giveaway post immediately—why else would he delete it without explanation? He must’ve realized the winner was his husband’s alt account!!! My logic is spot on, right!?]
[@MoChen replies to @Self-Study Girl Never Gives Up: Shuier!! Please take a seat!!]
[@FangXiaoXiaoXiao replies to @Self-Study Girl Never Gives Up: I just checked that alt account. The profile says October 20th birthday, location Beijing. One Weibo post had geotagging showing Peking University. Plus, this account posted tons of physics-related content—99% matching Zhou Ziheng’s interests!]
[@ExcellentSlingshotPlayer: Replies to @FangXiaoXiaoXiaoXiao: Sis, you’re amazing! I gotta go check that alt account—bailing!]
[@WhyAren’tYouMarriedYetReply to @FangXiaoXiaoXiaoXiao: AAAAAHHHH MY GOD! Is it really Hengheng???]
And just like that, Zhou Ziheng’s meticulously hidden alt account—kept under wraps for three and a half years—was exposed by this bungled giveaway incident. The account contained over 800 posts. One-third were about his university life and academic research, while others discussed current events or vented about experiences during filming. Not only netizens were reading them—Xia Xiqing also started browsing through them.
[@I Hate Lenz’s Law: The day after the basketball game, I can’t lift my arms.]
[@I Hate Lenzi’s Law: What’s up? None of today’s lab equipment feels right. Could the Pauli Effect be targeting me??? Image: Life messing with this little kitty jpg]
[@I Hate Lenzi’s Law: If I finish my midterm presentation slides today, I’ll reward myself… Forget it—I’d be damned if I could finish it.]
[@I Hate Lenz’s Law: Physicists are actually pretty handsome (when young), but seeing their old photos makes me worry about my hair. Even though I’ve always had thick hair, who doesn’t know the truth that physics makes you ugly? This solidifies my resolve not to rely on looks for a living. Image: Keep pushing today, duck.jpg ]
[@My Most Hated Lenczer’s Law: The moon is tidally locked to Earth—one-sided love. Pluto and Charon are mutually tidally locked—mutual attraction. Conclusion: Earth is such a jerk.]
What the heck, this little guy is way too adorable. Flipping through the posts backward, Xia Xiqing glanced at the timestamps—all these were posted when Zhou Ziheng was eighteen. Just reading the text, Xia Xiqing could vividly picture Zhou Ziheng back then.
[@I Hate the Lenz Law: Is having many ideals greedy? If you strive for them, it shouldn’t count, right?]
Sure enough, always greedy. Xia Xiqing smiled as he scrolled, landing on a purely image-based Weibo post with no text.
[@I Hate the Lenz Law: Sharing a picture.]
The photo showed a bouquet of paper roses arranged in a vase. Xia Xiqing glanced at the dining table—it was identical to the one in the picture. So he’d moved in back in his sophomore year.
[@I Hate Lenz’s Law: Ran into someone terrifying. Image: Running away gif]
[@I Hate Lenz’s Law: Late-night soul-searching—why do some people’s appearances clash so badly with their personalities?]
Huh?
Xia Xiqing glanced at the date: March.
Is that me?
[@I Hate Lengzi’s Law: Can’t understand why everyone falls for it. Is it really that magical, like Murphy’s Law?]
[@I Hate Lengzi’s Law: Recording one show kills half my brain cells, but that’s not the problem. The problem is falling into the same trap over and over. Live and learn.]
[@I absolutely despise Lengchi’s Law: Suddenly I grasped the necessity of art’s existence and evolution. While science undeniably drives humanity’s relentless exploration and progress, art embodies our primal, instinctive pursuit of beauty. If we focus solely on outward expansion while neglecting inner cultivation, we’d truly become carbon-based lifeforms with barren souls.]
[@I Hate Lenz’s Law: So I have moments of such inner weakness too.]
A long stretch passed without any Weibo posts, roughly after the first episode of Escape from Heaven was recorded.
Deleted?
Scrolling further, Xia Xiqing froze upon seeing the next entry.
[@I Hate Lenz’s Law: Now we’re accomplices.]
Accomplice… He glanced at the timestamp—it was after recording the second episode of Escape from Heaven. He vaguely recalled Shang Sirui inviting them both for drinks, playing Truth or Dare…
[@I Hate Lengci’s Law: The Little Prince couldn’t bear the rose’s capriciousness and pride, so he left his planet. Earth was covered in roses, but none were the one he wanted. By the time he realized it and returned, the abandoned little rose had waited until it withered. Don’t let yourself regret it—embracing a rose requires patience.]
[@I Hate Lengzi’s Law: Just reading this script makes me sad, but if he doesn’t act it out with me, I’ll be even sadder.]
[@I Hate Lengzi’s Law: Why does he look good in absolutely everything? It’s bizarre.]
[@I Hate Lengzi’s Law: Wuhan’s street food is delicious, the Yangtze River Bridge is stunning, and its Republican-era architecture is magnificent. Most importantly, xxq’s Wuhan dialect is so vivid—forgive my lack of eloquence.]
[@I Hate Lengzi’s Law: Forces act reciprocally, and so must emotions. As long as I give enough, I’ll always get something back.]
As he read on, Xia Xiqing’s eyes suddenly blurred. Just imagining Zhou Ziheng’s state back then made his heart ache terribly. Truthfully, he’d been suffering too at the time—he didn’t want to hurt him, didn’t want to drag him back into the mire, yet he was trapped in the sweetness of his tenderness, unable to escape.
Selfish and cruel.
[@I Hate Lengci’s Law: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
Before he could emerge from his sorrow, the next Weibo post suddenly erupted into a string of exclamation marks, accompanied by several comments. His previous posts had been mere self-amusement. Xia Xiqing clicked in out of curiosity, only to find Zhou Ziheng still talking to himself.
[@I Hate Lengci’s Law: I must remember this day!]
[@I Hate Lengci’s Law: How do I control this overwhelming excitement? Obsessed with love, can’t focus on work.]
[@I Hate Lenzi’s Law: Why did he wrap filming so quickly… I want to go back to Beijing…]
[@I Hate Lenzi’s Law: Returning to Beijing tomorrow!!!]
Xia Xiqing felt warm all over. Zhou Ziheng, secretly muttering to himself like this, was just too adorable.
[@I Hate Lengzi’s Law: The “So Good It’s Bad” principle never fails me.]
[@I Hate Lengzi’s Law: Sitting in the study room, I can’t focus on my books. Everyone around me is frantically solving problems, but all I want is to go home. Tomorrow, I absolutely must study properly.]
[@I Hate Lenzi’s Law: Did zzhh study well today? Nope.]
[@I Hate Lenzi’s Law: First class in the morning is pure torture! I don’t want to get up. xq feels so soft and warm in the morning—I don’t want to go to school!!!!]
[@I Hate Lenz’s Law: Freezing my head off on the rooftop. Why is taking a photo so hard? Holograms are tricky too, but nothing beats dealing with XXQ.]
“You’re the one who’s hard to deal with…” Xia Xiqing muttered to himself. Suddenly, Zhou Ziheng appeared in the dining room carrying a hotpot of stewed beef. “What did you say?”
“Huh?” Xia Xiqing guiltily put down his phone. “Nothing, nothing. Dinner’s ready?”
“Almost.”
Xia Xiqing didn’t know how to tell Zhou Ziheng that his secret account had been discovered by everyone. But you can only hide from the moon on the first day, not the fifteenth. And…
He stared at Zhou Ziheng’s face, linking him with that adorable little guy from the alternate account, finding it both cute and amusing. He couldn’t help but stand up, wrap his arms around Zhou Ziheng’s neck, and plant several kisses on his cheeks.
Zhou Ziheng couldn’t help but laugh, his hands resting on Xia Xiqing’s waist. “What’s gotten into you? Why are you so happy?”
“Nothing.” Xia Xiqing tried to suppress the corners of his mouth, but they still curled upward wildly.
“You clearly are.” Zhou Ziheng leaned down and bit his lip. “Tell me.”
“I really am not.”
“Hurry up and say it.”
“Hmm…” Xia Xiqing’s eyes darted around as he released his hands. “Ziheng…” He hesitated for a long moment over his choice of words, still unsure how to explain it. Finally, he plopped back into his chair, calmly scooped a spoonful of beef into his mouth, and said casually, “Go check Weibo yourself. Just so you know, it has nothing to do with me.”
You’re the one who insisted on using a secondary account to repost the giveaway.
Zhou Ziheng sat down across from him, utterly confused. He pulled a phone from his pocket, opened Weibo, and reflexively checked the trending topics.
“Holy shit…”
Xia Xiqing swore this was the first time he’d ever heard Zhou Ziheng swear.
[@Today’s Gossip: Netizens uncovered Zhou Ziheng’s alternate account. Everyone, come check out this adorable young man! His nerdy complaints about not wanting to go to school are so relatable!]
[@UprightCamel: So utterly charming. Not a fan, but this guy is just adorable—totally not the dominant alpha persona we expect from the entertainment industry’s top star.]
[@DaoYaoyao: Oh my god, this username hits all my cute buttons! Zhou Ziheng is such an incredibly adorable little angel!]
[@Self-Study Girl: If you scroll through his Weibo from old to new, you’ll witness a little cutie’s journey from “obsessed with physics textbooks” to “head over heels in love”! Today I wept for the beauty of love!!!]
[@Rich Cutie: “Earth is such a jerk” Hahahaha—only a science angel could crack a cold joke like that! So adorable and charming, this guy is absolutely perfect.]
[@LuobeiLuobei: Oh my god, I’m so jealous! Total science boyfriend vibes, and how he gradually becomes love-obsessed later on is just so sweet it makes me cry!]
[Star Moon Between Eyebrows: When he said “Xiqing looks good no matter how you look at him,” it was just too adorable. Today I’m a lemon-squeezing envy monster 5555 And his bio—I have a little rose. Is he talking about Xiqing Brother? Oh my gosh, Hengheng is so sweet.]
[@Self-Study Girl Never Gives Up: Holy moly, how can it be this sweet? A whole process of gradually admitting it’s delicious, wuwuwu. Zhou Ziheng really loves Xia Xiqing.]
[@YuiYuiYui: Not wanting to go to school, no motivation to work—it’s like looking at myself. But my bed doesn’t have a soft, warm Xi Qing brother wuwuwuwu, so jealous.]
[@Kunlun Jun: Looking at his Weibo, there’s a period of gloom in the middle. Probably when he couldn’t get what he wanted? Also, that ID “Lenz’s Law” is so subtle. Doesn’t Lenz’s Law refer to the electromagnetic principle of “rejecting incoming and retaining outgoing currents”? Linking it to his Weibo posts, maybe he’s expressing dislike for that push-and-pull tug-of-war feeling in romance? Thinking about it this way, he really seems to like Xia Xiqing. And his profile pic—could it be a flower drawn by Xia Xiqing that he later tattooed on his hand? Just a guess. ]
[@Forcing Self-Study to Worship Heaven and Earth replies to @Kunlun Jun: Holy crap, dude!! Waaah Zhou Ziheng is just too perfect, who wouldn’t fall for Zhou Ziheng?? What kind of divine love is this!!!]
[@HenghengSuperA: “Physics makes people ugly,” “I can’t rely on my looks to make a living,” “The ‘So Good It’s Bad’ Theory never fails me” Hahahahaha How can Zhou Ziheng be so deadpan yet hilarious? And he has the nerve to say “How can someone’s appearance and personality be so mismatched?” Please, just look at yourself!]
[@EntertainmentCircleTopDog replies to @HengHengSuperA: Hahahahahahahaha Please, Zhou Ziheng, open your eyes and look at yourself.]
[@MrsZhouIsHere replies to @EntertainmentCircleTopDog: Sis, you should change your name to EntertainmentCircleCutieHaha.]
[@SelfStudyIsHeaven: The best part is how absurdly clumsy this unmasking was, hahaha. A total hottie using a secret account to repost his boyfriend’s giveaway post—and then fucking winning it, hahaha! His carefully hidden account got exposed by his own boyfriend, hahaha! This meme will keep me laughing for a year.]
[@StudySessionsWeAreSisters: Hengheng is just jealous, right? He doesn’t want Xiqing Brother’s art to fall into someone else’s hands! He reposted that giveaway post dozens of times, lolololol]
[@XiqingBrotherImYours: Go check his likes—they’re all for Xiqing Brother’s CP posts, and he even liked a Weibo dissing the Sanqing CP. Hahahaha what East Asian King of Jealousy haha, you wanted him jealous? Backfired big time.]
Zhou Ziheng slammed his phone face-down on the table.
“It’s over, it’s over…”
A lifetime of reputation destroyed in an instant.
Who could’ve predicted his persona would collapse in such a bizarre way? Who could have predicted this???
Xia Xiqing was laughing so hard his stomach hurt. He leaned on the table, crawled over to Zhou Ziheng, and buried his face in the other guy’s shoulder, giggling uncontrollably. Zhou Ziheng was both furious and mortified. Now everyone knew about his antics—it was utterly humiliating.
“Stop laughing.” Zhou Ziheng sighed dramatically, wishing he could bang his head against the wall in frustration. “Can you please stop laughing?”
“Okay, okay, I won’t laugh anymore.” Xia Xiqing slapped his own cheeks, trying desperately to compose himself. He reached out to turn Zhou Ziheng’s face toward him, but the moment he did, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing again. “Hahahahahaha…”
“You…”
“Sorry, sorry!” Xia Xiqing clutched his stomach apologetically, tears streaming from laughing. “You’re too cute, really. How can you be this adorable?” He echoed Zhou Ziheng’s words from the private chat: “I met someone terrifying. Am I that scary? Huh?”
“Stop talking.” Zhou Ziheng couldn’t bear to look at him. Xia Xiqing leaned in and kissed him. “Little angel who hates the Law of the Stupid, wanna be my accomplice?”
Here we go again. That same teasing tone.
Zhou Ziheng felt like he’d been transported back to the moment he first met Xia Xiqing.
“Why are you so babyish~” Xia Xiqing wrapped his arms around Zhou Ziheng’s neck, laughing nonstop. “Every day you say you don’t want to go to school, yet every day you still diligently carry your backpack to class. No way, I’m gonna laugh myself to death. You’re just too adorable.” With that, he burst into laughter again.
“You think I’m childish, don’t you… Sometimes I am childish.”
The five-year age gap had always been a mental block for Zhou Ziheng. He worked hard to bridge the various gaps created by their age difference, striving to be more mature. But time was objective; it didn’t bend to will.
Xia Xiqing cupped Zhou Ziheng’s face, pressing his forehead against Zhou’s, his gaze gentle.
“They say you should never watch a boy grow up. It wastes your time, wastes your feelings, and ends up benefiting someone else.”
His voice fell like an ice cube dropped into champagne, settling in Zhou Ziheng’s heart.
“They’re lying.”
Xia Xiqing blinked slowly, his lashes trembling slightly. “When I met you in the park at eleven, I should have stolen you away.”
“I regret it so much.”
