Xie Jiali returned to his room and collapsed into bed without even pulling a blanket over himself. His head throbbed, and all the strength seemed to have drained from his body.
Half asleep, he had no idea what he was dreaming about. His brows knitted in vague discomfort, and then he suddenly heard a tremendous splash outside.
Splash-!
An enormous wave in his dream jolted him awake. He felt cold all over.
Only then did Xie Jiali realize that the window he had opened to air out the room that morning was still open. Although the rain had stopped, the autumn scenery outside remained bleak, with rain-beaten petals strewn across the ground.
Expressionless, Xie Jiali went over to close the window. He glanced at the pool below and saw Su Yue.
He stared for two seconds, then pulled the window shut, cutting off every sound.
He no longer had the heart to take a jab at his romantic rival. If Shi Zhou really only liked girls...
Xie Jiali fell back onto the bed and laid an arm over his eyes, thinking that he was different from Su Yue.
Su Yue's feelings might well be fleeting, but Shi Zhou meant far more to him than merely someone he liked.
Shi Zhou was his anchor, his ideal.
Ever since childhood, his life had been dull, tedious, and harsh. From morning to night, day after day, his only companions had been studying, voice training, and martial arts training.
Restoring Ancient Earth's culture was far easier said than done, of course. To uphold the family's reputation, his grandparents had made sure he could identify the origins of ancient artifacts by touch before he was even as tall as the stacks of books.
While other children played, he had to practice with a spear and learn calligraphy with an egg balanced on his arm. If his writing wasn't good enough, he wasn't allowed to eat.
He was the only child in their branch of the main family line. That was both a hope and a shackle.
Before college-no, before meeting Shi Zhou-he hadn't even known that a life like this counted as suffering.
After all, he had grown used to everything.
The first time he saw him at the university gates, the young man had been leaning against a motorcycle, chatting spiritedly with his friends. His parents and little sister stood beside him, smiling as they handed out candy from their family to his friends.
His little sister clung to his calf, pleading for a ride on her big brother's big motorcycle.
He himself had sat alone in a nearby car, accompanied only by the butler and servants whose faces blurred together.
His grandfather, who had been strict but caring, had long since passed away. His grandmother was too old to come see him off.
His parents were busy partying and squandering the money he earned. They certainly had no time to care whether he went to school.
Somehow, afterward, amid his increasingly busy life, he kept thinking of that young man and the vivid red-and-white motorcycle he had leaned against.
All it took was a casual hint, and someone brought him the young man's information.
Shi. Zhou.
There were plenty of poems about boats, the meaning of "Zhou," but only one line came to mind.
"A fair breeze greets the boat in season; the gathered water falls short of a foot."
May even the headwinds understand your wishes; may life offer you a good path, and may the road ahead be smooth, with peace in all things.
A good name.
Driven by a feeling he couldn't explain even to himself, he squeezed time out of his hectic days to secretly look through the record of Shi Zhou's life.
He opened his photos over and over, tracing his brows and eyes with his fingers. Alongside his journal entries, he wrote down the things he wanted to say to him in a notebook.
Gradually, that was no longer enough, and he began engineering chance encounters with Shi Zhou.
But Shi Zhou either ignored him or spoke rudely to him.
Terrible grades, completely different tastes in clothes and hobbies, words that bore no resemblance to the way he had spoken before...
He was like a gemstone stripped of its brilliance.
Had his former self been an act? Or had something happened that Xie Jiali knew nothing about?
When he learned that Shi Zhou would be joining this show, he turned down his other work and came without hesitation.
Even after two years, he still didn't know what he was holding on to.
Xie Jiali told himself, One last time. This really is the last time.
He deliberately waited by the entrance for the young man carrying a suitcase, and saw Shi Zhou with light shining in his eyes once more.
He knew his gamble had paid off.
Lying on the bed without even the strength to move, Xie Jiali sighed inwardly.
The more someone mattered, the more deeply they could hurt you.
His thoughts were a tangled mess now. He truly didn't know what he would do if things didn't end the way he hoped.
Knock, knock.
Someone was at the door.
Xie Jiali hurriedly sat up, combed his fingers through his hair, and straightened his collar.
He opened the door to find a staff member.
The smile on his face faded almost imperceptibly. "...Is something wrong?"
The staff member smiled. "Don't forget to send your text."
Xie Jiali adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, still smiling. "Do I have to?"
The staff member hesitated. "You should send one, shouldn't you?"
Didn't Xie Jiali want to be the first to text Shi Zhou?
That didn't seem right.
Meanwhile, Shi Zhou couldn't decide whom to text. He always preferred to bury his head in the sand when it came to things like this, so he decided to leave it until the very last moment.
As usual, he opened his books and listened to lectures to catch up on the two years of coursework he had missed.
Bzz, bzz-
Shi Zhou paused the lesson and instinctively opened the message on his Mindnet.
"Don't overthink it. Finish your milk and get to bed early."
"Holy shit!"
Shi Zhou swore and shot straight out of his chair.
Why had Bai Shen sent it to him? Wasn't he supposed to send it to Yu Manman?
Bzz, bzz-
Before Shi Zhou could work it out, a second text popped up.
"Pretty please, help Mommy try on more clothes later, okay? ^_^"
"..."
After reading Yu Manman's message, Shi Zhou sat back down.
They were probably too embarrassed to text each other, or still getting to know each other, right?
It was fine if they both sent their messages to him. That was what a convenient stand-in was for, anyway.
As long as one of them didn't text him while the other texted their crush.
That would be mortifying. On second thought, this arrangement was fine.
Shi Zhou reassured himself.
Bzz, bzz-!
A third one!
Little Shi Zhou was shocked. Little Shi Zhou was confused.
He stared at the Mindnet in front of him, sorely tempted to take it apart and check whether something was wrong.
Wait, was I supposed to get this many messages?
"I'm really glad I met you. Truly."
The tone was pretty sincere, but he couldn't tell who had sent it.
Shi Zhou cupped his face and thought it over. It was probably Xie Jiali.
He didn't have anyone he liked yet, so he had sent Shi Zhou a friendly message.
By the time the fourth buzz sounded, Shi Zhou was numb.
Come on, there are only eight people here.
Not counting me, four people actually sent me texts?!
But when he opened it, it read:
"Thank you, Zhouzhou. I never knew dancing could be something so wonderful."
Shi Zhou let out a deep breath of relief and dropped his guard. Just as he'd thought.
All four were friendship texts.
That meant he wasn't doing too badly as a person. Everyone's strange expressions during his solo interview tonight must have been because they were too tired, right?
It was perfectly normal to be too tired to smile.
Once Shi Zhou had figured it out, he couldn't help breaking into a grin.
It's fine. I can be the one who cheers everyone up.
Other dating reality shows always had someone like that, too-a jack-of-all-trades who went wherever they were needed.
He would do this job well!
Shi Zhou twirled his pen and pondered for a moment. Did that mean he should send his message to Xie Jiali?
Before you continue