They Don't Look Straight

Thinking of the look on Qin Yu's face still soured Yu Nian's mood.

He didn't understand why, when they had broken up so long ago, Qin Yu still had to pop up every so often to remind him he existed.

There was only one path up the mountain, with no fork for another few hundred meters. If Qin Yu insisted on following him, there was nothing he could do except keep as much distance between them as possible.

Yu Nian wanted to visit the Taoist temple at the very summit, and he wasn't going to change course because of Qin Yu. He could only pray that Qin Yu planned to take another route to enjoy the scenery.

He pushed ahead without a backward glance, passing plenty of people.

The mountain path was narrow. If he got far enough ahead to put a crowd between them, Qin Yu would have a hard time catching up.

With that thought in mind, he kept walking, growing increasingly breathless and exhausted until even his irritation wore away.

Eventually, he reached a small pavilion and spotted a convenience store nearby selling food.

Anywhere that could accommodate a shop wasn't actually very high up; most of them were near the foot of the mountain.

Yu Nian thumped his slightly aching legs, took off his stuffy bear hat, and stuffed it into his backpack. Looking up at the increasingly steep path ahead, he thought, I'm doomed.

He had only just started. How were his legs already aching?

He really had spent too long cooped up at home. His limbs were practically wasting away.

Yu Nian turned to look downhill. Qin Yu and his older brother were following in the middle of the crowd.

Yu Nian took a sip of water, hurriedly shouldered his backpack, and fled with his bamboo walking stick.

He felt as though he was on the Long March, with enemies pursuing him from behind and cutting off his escape. He didn't dare stop for a moment.

He could have taken his time climbing the mountain, but now he was running as though a ghost were chasing him. It was absolute misery.

He knew that after two years of livestreaming, sitting for long stretches and rarely going out, he was noticeably less fit than before.

Qin Yu, on the other hand, played basketball and trained regularly, so he got plenty of exercise. Yu Nian had no idea whether Qin Yuheng worked out, but both brothers seemed to have boundless energy.

Up ahead, Yu Nian was panting like a dog. Whenever he glanced back, the two of them were striding along without the slightest sign of difficulty.

If the path ahead hadn't been too narrow for people to move aside, they would have caught up already.

Yu Nian's vision went dark.

Goddammit. If I could beat Qin Yu in a fight, I'd give him a couple of good punches once we got down this mountain.

After climbing who knew how many hundreds of meters, Yu Nian couldn't take being chased anymore. He gave up and sat down at a rest stop, bought half a muskmelon from a vendor, and tucked himself into a corner to eat it.

Two tourists were chatting nearby. Yu Nian moved a little closer, trying to blend in with them.

Catching sight of Qin Yu and his brother approaching out of the corner of his eye, he turned to listen intently to the tourists. He ate his melon while nodding along with a perfectly natural series of "Mm-hm, mm-hm, mm-hm."

After a while, the two finally realized something wasn't quite right. They turned to find Yu Nian blinking his big eyes at them, looking utterly innocent as he munched on his melon.

"..."

The young woman asked, "Excuse me, do we know you?"

Yu Nian gave an awkward smile, pulled a handful of candy from his pocket, and offered some to each of them. "Let's be friends."

The young man's eyes lit up when he saw him. Shyly taking out his phone, he said, "Sure, sure! Let's add each other on WeChat~"

Yu Nian swallowed, took a closer look at him, then looked at the young woman.

Her expression was complicated. "He's my older brother."

Yu Nian chuckled and quietly told the young man, "Sorry, we're both bottoms."

The young man looked disappointed for all of 0.001 seconds before immediately saying, "Since you're so good-looking, I could top too."

The young woman covered her face, apparently unable to watch any longer.

Yu Nian swallowed a mouthful of melon and sprang to his feet. "I just remembered I have something to do. I'll be going now. Bye!"

Unwilling to give up, the young man stood. "Hey, handsome! Handsome! You haven't added me on WeChat yet~"

The young woman chased after him. "Hey, wait for me~"

Yu Nian ran a few steps, only to discover that the young man was still following him, pursuing him with his phone held up.

"D-don't come any closer!" Frightened, Yu Nian hurried up the mountain.

Five minutes later, Yu Nian finally ran up to the Qin brothers, gasping for breath.

Qin Yu looked startled. "Niannian, how did you end up behind us?"

He approached to give Yu Nian a hand, but Yu Nian gently dodged him.

Yu Nian leaned back against the rock face. Before he could catch his breath, the siblings came chasing after him again.

The young man was nothing if not persistent. Delighted to see Yu Nian had stopped, he said, "Handsome, you still haven't told me your name. Come on, let's add each other on WeChat."

Yu Nian thought the world had truly gone mad. How did a simple mountain hike turn into being chased all the way by Gay Men?

Did this mountain somehow attract gay men?

Qin Yu watched the young man warily, while Yu Nian seized the chance to hide behind Qin Yuheng and cautiously peek out. "Sorry, I'm not adding you on WeChat. Please stop chasing me..."

He left it at that, afraid Qin Yuheng might pick up on something.

Qin Yuheng lowered his gaze. Yu Nian was clutching his sleeve with one hand and holding his half-eaten melon in the other. A few drops of sweat clung to his black hair; he was clearly exhausted.

Qin Yu frowned at the young man. "What are you doing?"

The young man's eyes lit up again at the sight of Qin Yu. "Handsome, let's exchange contact details."

Only when Yu Nian saw him switch to pestering Qin Yu did he relax, staying behind Qin Yuheng as he munched away on his melon.

Qin Yu frowned and was just about to speak when a series of crunches came from Yu Nian's direction. Every mouthful sounded wonderfully crisp.

The young man also shifted his gaze. At the sight of Qin Yuheng, his eyes lit up yet again. "Handsome, let's add each other on WeChat..."

Seeing him dare to ask for Qin Yuheng's WeChat too, Yu Nian thought he really had no fear of death.

He hurriedly poked his head out to stop him. "Hey, don't ask him. He isn't gay."

The young man gave Qin Yuheng a doubtful look, only to be chilled by the look he received in return.

The young woman came over to apologize. "I'm so sorry. My brother has a little problem up here. I'll take him to get it checked out right now."

She pointed at her head, then dragged the young man downhill, scolding him as they went. "Can you stop being so desperate to find a husband? Has the world run out of men?"

The young man retorted, "Could you find three more men that handsome?"

She fell silent for a moment before saying, "That still doesn't mean you can ask every man you see for his WeChat. What if he's straight? How awkward would that be?"

The young man sounded uncertain. "Okay, sorry. I won't do it again. But it's so strange. None of those three looked straight to me~"

"None of them looked straight~"

"Looked straight~"

"...Straight~"

His last words drifted through the air like a resounding echo, making all three men's hearts lurch.

Qin Yu thought, I'm screwed, I'm screwed. My brother's going to give me hell!

Yu Nian thought, I'm screwed, I'm screwed. Qin Yuheng's going to hate my guts!

Qin Yuheng: "..."