Pei Yubai walked ahead, with Qiguan Yuan following behind him.
It was already late.
The two followed the flagstone path deeper into the village.
Only vague shapes remained in the twilight. Qiguan Yuan walked slowly, his steps light and almost silent on the flagstones, casual and languid.
So for a while, he fell a little behind Pei Yubai.
After a few steps, Pei Yubai slowed down, letting Qiguan Yuan catch up and walk beside him.
"Did your production team find the place you're staying?" Qiguan Yuan asked.
Pei Yubai nodded.
"Could you ask if there's anywhere available for me? I need to stay in the Village Above the Clouds for a few days." Before dealing with those two people, he needed to observe them for a few days before he could act to resolve the problem.
Pei Yubai glanced at him, took his phone from his pocket, and opened his chat with Meng Xu.
He typed a short message and sent it. "Qiguan Yuan needs to stay in the Village Above the Clouds for a few days. Is there somewhere he can stay?"
Meng Xu replied in less than three seconds, as though he had been holding his phone all along, just waiting for this.
"Would he mind staying with you guys? Have him stay with you!"
Pei Yubai looked at the message, his finger pausing above the screen. Then he sent another message. "He might not want to be filmed, and there aren't any spare rooms."
Meng Xu replied even faster. "Then we won't film him! As long as he stays with you! If he's willing to appear on camera, I'll pay him! The same as you guys! Ask him for me! Don't worry about spare rooms. You can squeeze in if you have to. Just see if two people can share a room."
Pei Yubai held his phone out in front of Qiguan Yuan so he could read the screen.
Qiguan Yuan lowered his head for a look. He did not reach for it, simply reading the messages while Pei Yubai held it. His gaze shifted from the screen to Pei Yubai's face.
"What does staying together mean? Sharing a room with you?"
Pei Yubai nodded.
Qiguan Yuan hummed. "Sure."
That suited him perfectly, too.
Pei Yubai added, "He asked if you're willing to be filmed. That livestream you watched last time. He said he could pay you."
Qiguan Yuan thought for a moment, his expression barely changing. "I don't mind either way."
Pei Yubai typed his answer to Meng Xu. Meng Xu sent back a string of exclamation marks, then said, "Great, great, great! I'll arrange for a camera operator to follow you right away."
Pei Yubai put his phone away and glanced at Qiguan Yuan.
Qiguan Yuan was yawning, the back of his hand covering his mouth and his eyes narrowed to slits.
When he finished yawning, his eyes were watery, their corners slightly red.
"Are you sleepy?" Pei Yubai asked.
Qiguan Yuan lowered his hand and blinked. "I've been walking since yesterday. I haven't slept in almost a day." The ends of his words ran together a little as he spoke. He really did look sleepy.
Pei Yubai looked at his now half-closed eyes. He wanted to ask why he had been walking since yesterday, but swallowed the question before it left his mouth.
He turned around. "Then let's get back as soon as possible."
Because Qiguan Yuan could not use his magical powers, he had spent almost an entire day walking from Cloud-Hidden Town to the Village Above the Clouds.
He really was a little tired now.
The stilt house was lit up. Dim yellow light spilled from the first-floor kitchen window. Someone was cooking, and the smell of cooking fumes drifted through the gaps in the window, mingling with the aroma of chilies and garlic.
Pei Yubai climbed the stairs, with Qiguan Yuan following behind.
The wooden stairs were narrow, and they walked single file. Qiguan Yuan's footsteps were light, but the boards still creaked.
The door on the second floor was open. Shen Yuzhou sat on the threshold, munching on a cucumber.
When he saw Pei Yubai coming up, he was just about to greet him when he spotted Qiguan Yuan behind him.
The cucumber stopped at his mouth, his teeth halfway into a bite without biting through. His eyes widened and his mouth hung open. The cucumber slipped from his mouth and fell onto his trousers, but he did not even react enough to pick it up.
Ji Shiyu came out of the kitchen with a glass of water.
At the sight of Qiguan Yuan, Ji Shiyu paused, holding the glass without drinking from it or setting it down.
Ji Shiyu's gaze lingered on Qiguan Yuan for two seconds, then shifted away to glance at Pei Yubai before returning.
Qiguan Yuan stood at the top of the stairs, looking at the two of them. His gaze swept over Shen Yuzhou's face, then moved to Ji Shiyu's, where it paused.
Huh? It really was an ill-fated bond? How exactly had that boy Lu Zhao managed it? If possible, he really would like another look at how the boy had done it.
That really was an extraordinary talent.
But at the thought of having to go through the trouble of sorting things out again afterward, he abandoned the idea.
Pei Yubai explained to the two of them, "Yuan... Qiguan Yuan will be staying here for a few days. He'll be sharing my room."
Shen Yuzhou finally closed his mouth. He bent down and picked up the cucumber from his trousers, holding it in his hand, unsure whether to keep eating.
"M-Mr. Qiguan?" His voice trembled a little.
Qiguan Yuan glanced at him and nodded. "Mm."
Shen Yuzhou swallowed. "What brings you here?"
Qiguan Yuan smiled. "I came to deal with a little problem."
He looked at the cucumber in Shen Yuzhou's hand. There was a little dust on it.
Shen Yuzhou followed his gaze and hurriedly wiped the cucumber on his clothes. He took a bite and answered indistinctly, "Oh, oh. Have you eaten? Brother Ji made dinner. There's extra."
Ji Shiyu stood beside them with the glass of water, saying nothing and merely nodding.
Qiguan Yuan glanced at Ji Shiyu, then at Pei Yubai. "I've eaten," he said.
In fact, he had not. But he did not want to eat.
So sleepy...
Want to sleep...
Pei Yubai glanced at him but did not expose the lie.
He pushed open the door to his room, went inside, and switched on the light.
Qiguan Yuan stood in the doorway and looked inside. "Very clean. I'll get some sleep first. Go have something to eat."
Pei Yubai nodded. "If you want to wash up, there's a bathroom in the room."
Qiguan Yuan nodded. "I'll sleep first. The rest can wait until I wake up."
Qiguan Yuan could barely keep his eyes open anymore, his lashes fluttering.
After Qiguan Yuan went inside, Pei Yubai turned and left the room, gently pulling the door shut behind him.
The door made no sound as it closed. He kept his hand against it and slowly pushed it shut until the latch slipped into the frame with a very soft click.
Shen Yuzhou was still sitting on the threshold.
The scenery in the Village Above the Clouds really was beautiful. Shen Yuzhou had discovered this spot on the threshold at noon.
The threshold was comfortable to sit on, and it also offered the best view.
He had finished his cucumber and was holding a cucumber end that had come from who knew where.
When he saw Pei Yubai come out, he stood and leaned closer, keeping his voice very low.
"Brother Pei, what brings Mr. Qiguan here?" He really was curious. Although Qiguan Yuan had said he was here to resolve a little problem, that only made him more curious about what the little problem was.
He thought Pei Yubai most likely knew, but to his surprise, Pei Yubai glanced at him and said, "I don't know."