Whatever Tricks You've Got, Bring Them On

"Heading out, Xiuyuan?" Lin Sen lowered his hand, a perfectly measured smile spreading across his face. "Perfect timing. I came to ask you out for a stroll."

Before Yu Xiuyuan could speak, Yun Chuan stepped forward from the side, coming into Lin Sen's view. "Bad timing, actually. I asked him first."

Only then did Lin Sen notice someone behind Yu Xiuyuan. He raised an eyebrow. "Are you here to give him a Date Card too, Yun Chuan?"

"No!" Yu Xiuyuan answered first.

Yun Chuan frowned. He hadn't intended to say he was here to give him a Date Card either, but with Yu Xiuyuan saying that...

"Then I still have a chance. Please accept my Date Card, Yu Xiuyuan. You can't refuse."

Sure enough, Lin Sen seized the opportunity.

"Sure. Where are you planning to take me on this date, Lin Sen?" Yu Xiuyuan asked.

He wasn't trying to avoid Yun Chuan. He just wanted to know exactly what Lin Sen was plotting. The sooner he knew, the sooner he could guard against it. Otherwise, with this hanging over him, he couldn't even enjoy digging up sweet potatoes.

Yun Chuan's brow furrowed further. Was he upset with me?

"Yu Xiuyuan..."

Yu Xiuyuan turned around and squeezed Yun Chuan's wrist, cutting him off. "I'll come find you later."

Yun Chuan was still unhappy, but his brow relaxed a little.

Fine. As long as he wasn't upset with me. He lowered his eyes, his gaze settling on his own wrist, and said nothing more.

Yu Xiuyuan said nothing else and left with Lin Sen.

Standing in the doorway, Yun Chuan heard him say to Lin Sen, "Let's go. Where to?"

He didn't even glance back.

An indescribable feeling suddenly welled up inside Yun Chuan.

It wasn't anger. It felt more stifling than anger.

It was novel, a feeling he had never experienced before.

Once the two disappeared around the bend in the corridor, Yun Chuan looked back at the couch Yu Xiuyuan had slept on, stepped back inside, and shut the door.

Yu Xiuyuan was the one who hadn't shut the door and had left me here.

Yun Chuan opened the cupboard and found a clean, thin blanket. He went over to the couch and lay down with his back to the window, draped the blanket over himself, and closed his eyes.

Meanwhile, Lin Sen led the way. "The Production Team said there's a Pavilion on the hillside over there with a great view. The guesthouse owner even set out a tea set. Want to take a look?"

Yu Xiuyuan nodded. "Sure. How do we get there?"

Delighted that he had agreed so readily, Lin Sen said, "There's a Sightseeing Cart. We'll drive that over."

Yu Xiuyuan perked up. "A Sightseeing Cart? One of those open-sided ones at tourist attractions? We can drive it ourselves?"

"Right. Interested?" Lin Sen asked with a smile.

Yu Xiuyuan even quickened his pace. "Now that, I'm definitely interested in. Where is it? I'll drive!"

Watching his eager expression, Lin Sen felt secretly smug. Isn't he easy enough to win over?

Once they had the cart and Lin Sen and the cameraman were seated, Yu Xiuyuan stepped on the accelerator, and the Sightseeing Cart shot forward.

Only after taking off did he remember to ask for directions. "Where's the Pavilion?"

Lin Sen's back slammed hard against the seat back. It hurt a little, and his heart gave a couple of heavy thumps. He's a safe driver, right?

When no answer came, Yu Xiuyuan turned to look at Lin Sen. "Tell me where it is!"

Lin Sen's heart clenched. He hurriedly waved a hand. "Watch the road! There's a turn coming up!" Gripping the handrail, he added, "It's this road. Just follow it."

"You got it." Yu Xiuyuan turned back, brimming with confidence, pressed harder on the accelerator, and swung the rear end around, neatly taking the bend along the inner edge of the mountain road.

Lin Sen had already gone a little pale. "Xiuyuan, slow down. We're not in a hurry."

"Don't worry," Yu Xiuyuan said without looking back, his voice scattered by the wind. "I'm a great driver. We're only doing forty-something kilometers an hour. This isn't fast at all."

Only seven or eight minutes later, before Yu Xiuyuan had had his fill, they arrived at the Pavilion.

He braked sharply, pitching Lin Sen forward so hard that even his buzz cut nearly got mussed.

Lin Sen climbed out looking rather disheveled and flashed Yu Xiuyuan a grin, while inwardly cursing up a storm.

The cameraman stepped down steadily with his equipment on his shoulder, the footage as smooth as if he were walking on level ground. This was nothing worth mentioning.

Yu Xiuyuan paid no attention to Lin Sen. The scenery before him had captured his attention.

They were at the crest of a slope on a small peak. Two or three hundred meters away lay a deep canyon, so densely covered in trees that hardly any bare ground was visible.

The afternoon sun blazed overhead, making the leaves across the mountains gleam a glossy green. In the distance, ridgelines rose and fell beneath the blue sky, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Yu Xiuyuan shaded his eyes with his hand, trying to see farther, but the sunlight was so dazzling that even the outlines of the distant mountains looked washed out.

A clear sky stretching for miles was beautiful.

But,

He felt he preferred mountain forests veiled in misty rain, or battered by fierce winds and torrential downpours.

In weather like that, the mountains took on a different aspect: wilder, fiercer, more unfathomable.

And more captivating, more breathtaking.

Forget it. I'm with the wrong person. Might as well just enjoy the sun.

"Come here, Xiuyuan," Lin Sen called from inside the Pavilion, his voice carrying a deliberately considerate note. "The sun's fierce today. Don't get tanned."

"..."

Yu Xiuyuan clicked his tongue inwardly. You've got a buzz cut, and you're worried about getting tanned?

Still, he played along, walking over and sitting on a stone stool inside the Pavilion.

The Pavilion was small, built of wood with four upturned eaves. A tea set sat on the stone table, not particularly fine, but at least clean.

"Nice view, isn't it?" Lin Sen sat across from him, sounding rather pleased with himself, as though he had made the scenery with his own hands.

"Yeah, it really is." Yu Xiuyuan meant it. "Even just sitting here doing nothing feels good."

"I thought you'd like it." Lin Sen took a paper packet from the cloth bag he had brought and waved it in front of him. "I brought tea, too. Mother Tree Da Hong Pao. I swiped it from my dad's study. If he finds out, I'll definitely get an earful."

Yu Xiuyuan thought he was trying far too hard to show off. Mother Tree Da Hong Pao, really? Does the venerable mother tree know about this?

Was he showing off his dad, too? Unfortunately, Yu Xiuyuan had no idea who his father was, so that attempt fell flat.

Yu Xiuyuan gave an awkward laugh. "Really? Then I'll have to try it."

Lin Sen did have some skill. Warming the cups, adding the leaves, pouring the water, decanting the tea-his movements flowed smoothly, and he certainly looked the part.

But Yu Xiuyuan's gaze kept drifting to a tea pet on the tea tray. It was a little clay-colored boy with a big forehead, standing there bare-bottomed. He had seen similar ones before; they were different from the usual tea pets that changed color when tea was poured over them.

Lin Sen poured a cup of tea and slid it toward Yu Xiuyuan with two fingers. "Try it."

Yu Xiuyuan was growing impatient. Why hasn't he gotten to the point yet? Once he's done talking, I want to play with that tea pet.

It could pee.

"I've listened to your songs," Lin Sen finally began. "Every one of them sounds wonderful, especially 'Golden Wind and Jade Dew,' the one you released the day before yesterday. It melted my heart."

Yu Xiuyuan blinked. "It was released the day before yesterday?" He genuinely hadn't known.

Lin Sen paused, his emotional momentum abruptly broken. "You didn't know?"

"Oh, I wasn't paying attention. After recording it, I left everything to my manager."

Yu Xiuyuan was telling the truth, but Lin Sen didn't believe him. He thought Yu Xiuyuan was giving him a canned response.

His expression darkened. He glanced at the cameraman and raised a hand to signal him to move a few steps back, then reached up and switched off the microphone at his collar.

Yu Xiuyuan's eyes lit up. Here it comes. Finally.

Without another word, he reached up and switched off his own microphone too.

Would it be underhanded, aboveboard, dirty, or raunchy?

Whatever tricks you've got, bring them on.