Having handled the matter personally, Meng Zihua didn’t get to sleep until nearly two in the morning. Watching the data on Pei Yisheng’s account soar, she felt immensely gratified. As expected of the potential star she had set her sights on Pei Yisheng was naturally born for this career.
Pei Yisheng had no idea he had been gifted a “golden rice bowl” by the heavens; he only knew that Qin Zhou was incredibly thick-skinned. His impression of the man had changed time and time again, to the point where he could no longer reconcile the current Qin Zhou with the image left by the campus forums or their first meeting.
Lawless, rebellious, cold, and a malicious “Celestial.”
None of those labels fit the way Qin Zhou was acting like a spoiled brat now. Pei Yisheng reached out his hand, trying to reason with him. “I can blow-dry my own hair. Just give me the dryer.”
“How could it be more convenient for you to do it than me? Just relax, I won’t pull your hair out.” Qin Zhou gripped the hairdryer firmly, refusing to let go.
Unable to win the argument, Pei Yisheng had no choice but to let Qin Zhou stand behind him, running his fingers through his strands to dry them. Perhaps Qin Zhou actually had some talent for it; he didn’t pull the hair painfully, nor did he focus the heat on one spot long enough to burn. He actually dried it quite steadily.
However, one couldn’t be picky about the styling. His usually smooth hair was blown every which way, with a few small tufts sticking up as if expressing their indignation. Qin Zhou tried to smooth them down, but Pei Yisheng was too tired to stand any longer. “Alright, that’s enough. I’m going to sleep anyway, just leave it.”
Noticing Pei Yisheng’s bleary-eyed expression, Qin Zhou immediately switched off the dryer. “Alright, go to sleep then.”
Watching Pei Yisheng sway as he climbed onto the bed and lay down, Qin Zhou stood below and said, “Sleep is sleep, but don’t you dare forget what happened tonight when you wake up.”
Pei Yisheng had just settled in and hadn’t even adjusted his pillow yet. Hearing this, he immediately ducked his head into the quilt like an ostrich, leaving only a few stubborn strands of hair sticking out.
Qin Zhou chuckled. “Hiding won’t help. Goodnight.”
Pei Yisheng was already drifting off under the covers. He was truly exhausted today. He had woken up early for the performance, changed clothes, and put on makeup immediately. After that, he went to wait backstage, spending most of his time standing. After the performance, he hadn’t even rested before being cornered by Qin Zhou. Following a heated argument, he was physically and mentally drained. After the hot shower, his body had turned to mush; when the warm wind and fingers massaged his scalp, Pei Yisheng truly felt a moment of surrender.
He had to admit, humans are hedonistic. When someone can solve small problems and increase one’s happiness while they are exhausted, it is only human nature for one’s heart to waver.
Half-asleep, Pei Yisheng thought to himself: You can’t blame me for having a weak will; you can only blame the enemy for being too cunning.
Sleeping comfortably until noon the next day, Pei Yisheng stretched as he got out of bed. He opened the curtains to see Qin Zhou sitting at the dining table playing with his phone, with seven or eight takeout containers spread across the table.
Hearing the movement, Qin Zhou put down his phone and called him over to eat.
“For breakfast, there’s porridge and soup dumplings. For lunch, three dishes and a soup. For dessert, there are egg tarts and small cakes. There’s sliced fruit in the fridge, and if you want a fruit bowl, there’s yogurt you can mix yourself.”
He had woken up much earlier than Pei Yisheng. He ordered breakfast as soon as he got up, but since Pei Yisheng wasn’t awake when it arrived, Qin Zhou just had a few bites. Immediately after, he ordered lunch. Fortunately, Pei Yisheng was awake this time; if he hadn’t woken up, Qin Zhou would have considered calling him, as skipping meals is bad for the stomach.
“Why is there so much?” Pei Yisheng came down to wash up. He smelled the delicious food as he passed by and his pace quickened, but not wanting to be beholden to Qin Zhou, he forced himself to turn his head away. “You eat. I don’t have much of an appetite. I’ll head to the library later and check out the cafeteria on the way.”
“The dorm is much more ‘on the way.’ Just eat. If you don’t, all of this will have to be thrown away isn’t that a waste?” As if knowing what Pei Yisheng was thinking, Qin Zhou leaned over and said exaggeratedly, “Hotel deliveries have a minimum order price; they won’t even take the order if you buy too little. Just think of it as helping me out, baby.”
Pei Yisheng had just started to waver when the word “baby” froze him in his tracks. His face flushed red. “I told you not to call me that!”
“It just slipped out. I said what I was thinking. Sorry, baby. Go wash up quickly.” Qin Zhou was simply incorrigible. The more Pei Yisheng didn’t want to hear something, the more he said it, and he wouldn’t give the other person a chance to argue. He pushed Pei Yisheng’s back, herding him into the bathroom.
“Hurry up, the food will taste bad once it gets cold.”
Pei Yisheng brushed his teeth furiously, washed his face furiously… and then his fury evaporated. He covered his face, not knowing what to do.
Maybe I should ask Su Yiyi?
Unable to resist, Pei Yisheng and Qin Zhou quietly ate lunch. As expected of a high-end hotel, every dish was delicious. After several days, Pei Yisheng finally gave his taste buds a gourmet spa treatment.
Qin Zhou ate quickly. Once finished, he rested his elbow on the table and propped his face in his hand, watching Pei Yisheng eat slowly and methodically. As expected of someone who used to be the “model child” of other families, his manners were indeed impeccable and very pleasing to the eye.
Pei Yisheng ignored Qin Zhou’s gaze and focused on filling his stomach. After the meal, Pei Yisheng didn’t have to lift a finger; Qin Zhou cleaned everything up in a few seconds and explained his schedule. “I have to go home for a bit later. You do whatever you need to do. I’ll come back tonight to sleep with you.”
“Huh?” Pei Yisheng pointed at himself, his eyes wide with disbelief. “I’m a grown man. I don’t need ‘company.’ You don’t need to worry about me.”
“Yeah, yeah, right. It’s me who needs you to keep me company.” Qin Zhou didn’t argue. “I’m leaving now. See you tonight.”
Before Pei Yisheng could react, Qin Zhou grabbed his hand and kissed it. If he hadn’t been afraid that a sudden kiss on the cheek would truly anger the other man, Qin Zhou would have liked to be even more intimate.
Pei Yisheng didn’t know how to evaluate this behavior; he only knew that his fist was clenched very tight. He took back his thought that Qin Zhou was okay. The man was a rogue a lawless, stinking rogue!
He had to move out as soon as possible, preferably today!
Picking up his phone, he saw that his WeChat notifications had exploded. Pei Yisheng froze, for a moment not daring to imagine what had happened. During his hesitation, the phone vibrated again it was a call from Su Yiyi.
“Sheng Sheng, you finally picked up!”
“What do you mean ‘finally’?” Pei Yisheng was confused.
Su Yiyi had grievances to air. “Because I’ve been calling you all morning and couldn’t get through! I guessed that since you didn’t have class, you might have turned on ‘Do Not Disturb’ or sleep mode. I thought about going directly to your dorm to find you. I had just knocked on the door once when Qin Zhou opened it. Oh my god, he’s really handsome…”
Su Yiyi fangirled for a brief second before continuing, “He had a cold face and looked really fierce and impatient. He said you were sleeping and not to disturb you, then shut the door! Hey! He’s really rude! I’m docking a hundred points from his handsomeness!”
Pei Yisheng tried hard to find the point of this story that concerned him, but unfortunately, there wasn’t one it was all about Qin Zhou. He was speechless.
Sensing his silence, Su Yiyi finally got to the point. “I only dared to look for you after he left. I’m looking for you because you’ve gone viral online! The forums are full of news about you, and your ‘alt’ identity is about to be exposed. However, the Senior doesn’t know what you want to do yet, so she’s still keeping it tightly under wraps for you.”
Pei Yisheng: “Unexpected, but within the realm of reason.”
When he agreed to perform, Pei Yisheng had already considered the worst-case scenario. This was it. The fact that Meng Zihua could still keep a lid on it was already a great outcome. He hung up on Su Yiyi and called the Senior. She was happily looking at the data.
“Don’t worry, Sheng Sheng. This was originally part of my job. It’s not like we haven’t had similar situations in the studio before. No one will overly pry into an adult’s life. It’s just that they aren’t as sensational as you, which makes our contingency plans seem redundant. You don’t need to feel burdened by this.”
“On the contrary, the studio is going to give you a bonus! Borrowing your traffic, our studio has gained a lot of attention. We’ve been receiving orders since early this morning, and everyone is very happy. Do you want to come over and hang out? It’s the New Year period; don’t give yourself too much pressure.”
Meng Zihua gave a warm invitation. Pei Yisheng was very grateful that he hadn’t caused trouble for everyone, but the “hanging out” had to be put aside. He had to move house with Su Yiyi first.
While he went to find Su Yiyi, Lin Jiahu had just picked up Qin Zhou.
Lin Jiahu looked exhausted and let out a listless yawn. He waited for Qin Zhou to get into the car and took a few seconds before stepping on the gas. “Why were you sleeping in the dorm again? Who exactly is in that dorm?”
Qin Zhou’s attention was on his phone; it was unclear who he was messaging.
Lin Jiahu clicked his tongue. Recalling the gossip he had consumed in the middle of the night, he said to Qin Zhou with a grin, “Pei Yisheng from your dorm are you close with him?”
The last time he went to deliver breakfast, Pei Yisheng had spoken more to Qin Zhou than to him.
Qin Zhou spared him a glance. “What about it?”
“You don’t know about his performance yet, do you? The confession wall has gone crazy; everyone is asking for Pei Yisheng’s contact info!” Speaking of this, Lin Jiahu wasn’t sleepy anymore. His eyes lit up with an effect comparable to strong peppermint.
“Their department’s secrecy was really good. I heard long ago they were doing a cross-dressing stage play, but they never wore the costumes for rehearsals in the auditorium. I thought the show would be mediocre at the time, but who knew that once they changed clothes, the feeling would be completely different? Especially Pei Yisheng he’s truly beautiful.”
It was the first time Lin Jiahu had used “beautiful” to describe a man, showing the extent of his shock.
Qin Zhou, however, only heard that Pei Yisheng had performed in that outfit last night, and the whole school knew and saw it.
His tongue swept over his teeth and pressed against his cheek. Qin Zhou’s eyes narrowed slightly. The feeling was so refreshing his very soul felt transparent.
So what if they saw? They could only fish for him on the confession wall. He was the one who entered his room, hugged him, and kissed him.
Qin Zhou was still yearning to go back and take another look.
In the same dormitory, while one person was savoring the sweetness, another wanted to punch a wall.
Song Wen had scrolled through short video recommendations this morning and recognized at a glance that the person in the trending video was Pei Yisheng. His heart itched with desire. He had already finished ordering flowers and was heading out the door when his father called out to him.
Song Wen thought ‘Uh oh.’ Before he could make his getaway, he was pinned to the spot by his father’s words:
“Are you playing around with men at school?”