I said, say my name

He was so surprised that his voice rose a little.

But then he thought it over carefully. "Right, it must be this song. I have to say, this song really is good. He's right to feel threatened."

Talking about the song suddenly put Su Ziming in a good mood again. "Don't worry. I've been burned by this sort of thing before, so I'm very careful now. He won't find an opening. At most, he might hear a few rumors. He won't get anything else."

Yu Xiuyuan relaxed and smiled. "Then I know what's going on. Looks like he's trying to get at you through me. I'm almost looking forward to it."

With his mind at ease, Yu Xiuyuan returned to the guesthouse with Su Ziming and headed straight into his room. He had been longing to take a proper look at it, thinking about it the entire way back.

After shutting the door, he finally had time to examine the room. The bed was huge and sat squarely in the center; lying on it would give him an unobstructed view of all the beautiful scenery around him.

But Yu Xiuyuan preferred the long daybed that ran along the windows. It felt closer to the scenery, as though he could reach out and touch the forest and sky.

He took off his shoes, climbed onto the daybed, and lay down comfortably. The distant forest swayed gently in the wind, and clouds gathered and dispersed overhead. As he watched, his eyelids grew heavy, and his eyes drifted comfortably shut.

After an unknown stretch of time, knocking sounded somewhere far away.

Yu Xiuyuan slowly woke up. It took him a good while to gather his wits before he realized someone was knocking on his door.

Who was it? Lu Jinming? Or Lin Sen?

How annoying. I don't want to deal with them.

He played dead, pretending he wasn't there. Nobody was going to disturb his perfect view.

"Open the door. Stop spacing out." Yun Chuan's voice came through the gap in the door.

Yu Xiuyuan froze for a moment. Before his mind had fully woken up, his body had already climbed off the daybed and opened the door.

Outside, Yun Chuan had changed clothes. The casual outfit he'd worn while fishing was gone, replaced by a white shirt and dress pants.

Two buttons on his shirt were undone, revealing a stretch of collarbone.

"Not happy to see me?" Yun Chuan asked.

Yu Xiuyuan pulled his gaze away. "Of course I am. I thought it was..." He instinctively started to explain, then suddenly remembered the camera and microphone in his room and stopped. "Come in."

Yun Chuan strolled into the room and leaned close to his ear, his lips almost brushing its outer rim. "Who did you think it was?"

His voice was so low that only Yu Xiuyuan could hear him.

Warm breath brushed his ear. Yu Xiuyuan glared at him and shut the door hard.

Yun Chuan made himself thoroughly at home. He rolled up his sleeves as soon as he entered, walked straight to the counter, poured a cup of hot water, then turned and handed it to Yu Xiuyuan. His movements were smooth and effortless, as natural as if he were in his own home.

Yu Xiuyuan took the cup and couldn't help laughing. "You really don't stand on ceremony. This is my room. Do you think you're the host?"

Ignoring him, Yun Chuan turned and sat down on the daybed, urging him to drink. "It's autumn now. Napping without a blanket can give you a chill. Have some hot water to warm yourself up."

"How did you know I was napping?" Yu Xiuyuan asked in surprise, his eyes going round.

Still groggy from sleep, his eyes were rounder than usual. Yun Chuan thought he looked even cuter than when he was fully awake, and the corners of his mouth lifted despite himself.

"You silly thing," he said, his voice softening a little. "Did you forget this is being livestreamed? It wasn't just me. Hundreds of thousands of people were watching you nap."

"You watched my livestream?" Yu Xiuyuan pressed.

"Yes, I did." Yun Chuan looked up at him, his gaze impossibly frank. "I watched you sleep for a full half hour. I was worried you'd catch a chill, so I came to knock. After that, I watched you sit there in a daze instead of opening the door for me. Anything else you want to know?"

Yu Xiuyuan finally woke up completely, feeling a little uncomfortable under his gaze.

He swung his arms and walked over to sit on the daybed as though nothing had happened, sipping his water slowly.

Idiot. Why did I have to keep asking?

"I didn't expect you to be so talkative," he said, trying to change the subject. "Doesn't everyone say you hardly ever speak?"

"Depends on the person."

Only after watching him finish the entire cup did Yun Chuan speak again. "Didn't you say you were my fan? You didn't know?"

Yu Xiuyuan nearly choked on the last mouthful. Remembering the excuse he'd used just after arriving in this world, he coughed guiltily. "What good does being a fan do? Your fans all say you're a clean freak, too."

Yun Chuan took the empty cup, got up to put it on the counter, then came back. Looking at Yu Xiuyuan, he said each word distinctly:

"That depends on the person, too."

Yu Xiuyuan wanted to scratch his head. Did I sleep my brain away? What even is this conversation?

He simply stopped talking and turned to look at the sky. That cloud outside had a pretty nice shape. It looked like it needed a good punch.

Seeing him like this, Yun Chuan's smile became more obvious. Instead of teasing him further, he changed the subject. "What do you want to do this afternoon?"

"I haven't decided." An honest answer, though he still wouldn't look at him.

"Then let's dig up some sweet potatoes." Yun Chuan's voice was calm and relaxed. "Maybe we can try roasting them ourselves."

"There are sweet potatoes? In the vegetable patch out back? How come I didn't see them?" Forgetting his embarrassment, Yu Xiuyuan leaned over, grabbed Yun Chuan's arm, and shook it.

"There are. Maybe back then..." Yun Chuan leaned closer, his voice turning airy. "You were too busy chasing after some other guy to notice."

Yu Xiuyuan's face grew hot. He pushed Yun Chuan's arm away and stood up. This guy just won't quit.

After making a circuit of the room, he realized there was nothing he needed to prepare. He didn't have to change clothes; he could just put on his shoes and go.

He took a few steps, then looked back. The other man was still sitting comfortably on the daybed, not moving.

"Hey, come on." Yu Xiuyuan sounded a little fierce.

Yun Chuan didn't move. Instead, he settled in even more comfortably, folding his arms and leaning back against the broad pane of clear glass. He gave Yu Xiuyuan a meaningful look and slowly said:

"Say my name."

Yu Xiuyuan turned around, looking utterly baffled. "Huh?"

Yun Chuan blinked. "I said, say my name."

"Whose name?"

"Mine." Yun Chuan's lips curved as he watched him steadily. "You haven't said it once since we came back from fishing."

"..."

Yu Xiuyuan bit the inside of his lip and turned his head away.

He noticed.

While they were fishing, hearing him say, "Call me Yun Chuan from now on," had made Yu Xiuyuan feel embarrassed.

It was only a name, yet he'd somehow made it sound like flirting.

Yu Xiuyuan was a grown man, and he couldn't even get a name out.

His embarrassment turned to anger. "Are you coming or not?"

"Not unless you say my name."

Yu Xiuyuan gave in. Slapping his thigh, he strode over and hauled Yun Chuan up. "I give up. Come on, my God Yun."

Yun Chuan let himself be pulled up and dragged along, unable to suppress the curve of his lips. He nodded.

"All right. Your God Yun works, too."

Yu Xiuyuan's palm felt suddenly scorched, and he let go of Yun Chuan's wrist.

"Come or don't. See if I care!"

Yun Chuan finally laughed aloud. Satisfied, he stopped talking and obediently followed him out.

Yu Xiuyuan yanked the door open in a rush.

Lin Sen was standing outside with one hand raised, apparently just about to knock.

In his other hand was a pink envelope-a Date Card.