Wet strands of hair clung tightly to his forehead. Qi Beichen grabbed a bath towel to cover his vital parts, intending to blow-dry his hair first, but a series of knocks sounded at the door.
Qi Beichen didn’t care much; barefoot, he slid out toward the door, tiptoeing in a spiral to open it. Just as expected, Bai Muxuan was standing there, holding a fruit platter.
Seeing Qi Beichen in this attire, Bai Muxuan pushed him into the room with fluid, graceful movements and shut the door behind him.
In that very instant, Qi Beichen curled into a ball, sensing that things were taking a turn for the worse.
Sure enough, the next second, with a “thud,” he landed on top of Bai Muxuan. It was warm, hot, and something hard was pressing against his lower abdomen. Instantly, his face turned red and his neck flushed.
Qi Beichen sniffled; there was water on the floor, and his footing was unstable.
Bai Muxuan was quick-witted, setting the fruit platter on the floor of the entryway with one hand while shielding Qi Beichen’s waist with the other.
“I say, Qi Beichen, can you get up? You’re really heavy. Don’t you think this position is a bit… ambiguous?”
As Bai Muxuan tried to rise, Qi Beichen remained slumped over him, motionless like a jelly-fish. Qi Beichen tried a carp-leap to spring up, but failed.
He didn’t know when so much water had accumulated under his feet; as soon as he tried to stand, he stumbled and fell back into Bai Muxuan’s arms. This was even worse—his hand seemed to have touched something it shouldn’t have.
In that instant, the air seemed to freeze, and neither of them spoke. He hurriedly withdrew his hand, a fawning smile on his face. “Um, I said I didn’t do it on purpose, do you believe me?”
Bai Muxuan, flustered by the series of events, also felt his cheeks flush. “Get up!”
Qi Beichen steadied himself by holding onto a cabinet nearby. A chill rose from his feet, and he couldn’t help but shiver violently.
“Achoo… achoo…”
“One sneeze means someone is missing you, two means someone is cursing you, and three means you have a cold. I wonder which blind person is cursing me.” Qi Beichen stood with his hands on his hips, rubbing his slightly red nose tip.
“Tsk, who would curse you? Even the King of Hell would give you a wide berth, lest you frame him for a bump.”
“That’s a grievance. I was just being careless.”
“Your ‘carelessness’ is indeed very ‘careless’.”
His nose felt a bit sore, and his eyes were teary. “How about we change the subject? Thanks for the fruit, Muxuan-ge. Do you want to sit inside for a while? I can’t reach my back, and I think I’m a bit sunburned.”
Qi Beichen leaned on the cabinet and shook his hair, spraying a curtain of water. Bai Muxuan tried to dodge, but failed, getting sprayed right in the face.
Qi Beichen hurriedly grabbed a towel and wiped Bai Muxuan’s face frantically. It seemed Bai Muxuan’s face was even redder now.
“Muxuan-ge, don’t mention it. There are plenty of people who want to curse me. The person in first place is Qi Beixing. He’s probably watching me from somewhere in the dark, imagining me dying in some sewer.”
Bai Muxuan poked Qi Beichen’s forehead. “Stop that nonsense. Get to bed quickly. Although the temperature in Haishi is high, it gets very cold at night this time of year. Cold enters through the feet. If you get a fever like this, the itinerary will be delayed.”
Qi Beichen boldly hooked his arms around Bai Muxuan’s neck, stepping onto his feet, the bathrobe he was wearing trailing on the floor. Bai Muxuan had come over in slippers; Qi Beichen’s soles were cool. He held Qi Beichen and walked step by step toward the bed.
“When did our relationship get so close that you dare to step on my feet?”
“I’m just a bold commoner. Only bravery yields results. Effort might not win someone’s heart, but it definitely earns screams.” Qi Beichen rubbed his nose, wanting to sneeze again.
Bai Muxuan poked Qi Beichen’s forehead with his finger. “Stop watching those mindless short dramas. Look at how poisoned you’ve become.”
Qi Beichen sat obediently on the edge of the bed. Because of the fall earlier, large patches of blue and purple were visible on his legs. He tugged at his bathrobe, but it wasn’t long enough; pulling any further would reveal things not suitable for children.
“Sneaky and suspicious. Beichen, does your constitution have poor blood clotting?”
“I’ve been checked before. There’s nothing abnormal. I just get bruises here and there easily. It doesn’t hurt when I bump into things, and by the time I notice later, I’ve already forgotten where I got the bruise.”
“You really are careless.”
Qi Beichen didn’t bother covering them anymore. His legs were covered in bruises, and his hands were covered in band-aids a truly tragic state.
Bai Muxuan reached out and pressed on the bruises. They felt hard; it must be clotted blood that needed to be rubbed out. Since there was no safflower oil here, he would have to suffer a bit.
His fingertips traced circles on Qi Beichen’s leg, bringing a tingling, numb sensation, cool yet soothing. Qi Beichen couldn’t help but frown, pulling back halfway, but seeing Bai Muxuan’s serious expression, he endured it.
Bai Muxuan directly grabbed his ankle—it was so thin that he could hold it in one hand. “Why are you so thin? If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were being abused by coming out to play with me.”
“According to blood type, I’m Type O, which has a natural digestive advantage, so I don’t gain weight easily while enjoying delicious food.”
“Are you going to say next that Type B blood makes people prone to weight gain and attracts mosquitoes?”
Qi Beichen blinked seriously. “Muxuan-ge, I haven’t finished yet. This is a mini-lecture on blood types. People with Type O can eat frantically without gaining weight because their metabolic rate is higher.”
“Beichen, you really have the potential to be a fortune-teller. It’s a waste that you’re a medical student.”
“Of course! The end of medicine is metaphysics. If science can’t explain it, use metaphysics—it really works!”
Bai Muxuan looked down and carefully checked the bruises on Qi Beichen’s legs. “I was even cushioning you just now, and you still managed to fall like this. When we get back to Jiangcheng, you must have a full medical check-up.”
“Hiss… it hurts, it hurts…” Qi Beichen wanted to pull his leg back, but seeing Bai Muxuan’s serious expression, he held back.
“Generally speaking, just pay more attention. Just now, that…”
“No ‘just now.’ You’d better forget about what happened just now.”
“There’s a camera at the door.”
Bai Muxuan sneered, “It can’t see.”
“I accidentally turned on my phone camera.”
“Delete it.”
Qi Beichen hugged his phone like a treasure, motionless. Bai Muxuan’s mouth twitched.
Tracing circles on his leg and brushing his hair, Bai Muxuan said, “Qi Beichen, can’t you be a bit more careful? And your hair did you just fish it out of the water? Don’t you know you need to blow-dry it?”
Qi Beichen hung his head and smiled shyly. “I just saw Muxuan-ge’s message and wanted to be quick…”
“Next time, be better to yourself. Think of yourself first, then others. Show me your hand.”
Qi Beichen held out his hand. The band-aid was still perfectly intact and hadn’t touched water. Bai Muxuan nodded with satisfaction.
He grabbed a bottle of repair lotion from the head of the bed and blinked. “Um, Muxuan-ge, can you help me? With my lower back.”
Bai Muxuan took the lotion and looked at the instructions. “How do I apply it? I’ve never used it.”
“Just squeeze out about the size of a soybean, then follow the skin’s grain, gently rub in circles with your palm facing down until it’s fully absorbed.”
Bai Muxuan opened the cap, squeezed out some lotion—it was white, thick in texture, and exuded the fragrance of roses.
Following Qi Beichen’s instructions, the moment his palm touched his back, Qi Beichen twisted his waist uncomfortably.
“Don’t move.”
Qi Beichen obeyed, lying obediently in Bai Muxuan’s arms. The palm was warm, and under the warmth of his palm, the repair lotion turned liquid and transparent, seeping into his skin. One had to admit, it was very comfortable. He squinted his eyes; the warm air was blowing directly at him, soft and gentle, so comfortable that he almost drifted off to sleep.
“Rest well. If you feel uncomfortable, tell me immediately. I’m right next door. Make sure to blow-dry all of your hair.”
Qi Beichen nodded obediently, pursing his lips, his eyes sparkling with stars.
Bai Muxuan supervised him until his hair was dry before returning to his room. At the moment he closed the door, he thought of something else, but seeing that Qi Beichen was already curled up in the quilt, he didn’t knock again.
Bai Muxuan: Remember to take the cold medicine, along with Pudilan for inflammation. How is your temperature? It hasn’t risen, right?
Qi Beichen: [Thermometer].jpg. Reporting, temperature is normal, [Bear crawling].jpg.
Bai Muxuan: Rest well. We’re going up the mountain tomorrow.
Qi Beichen slept comfortably, his body feeling soft and his bones feeling as if they had melted. Perhaps the hotel bed was more comfortable than the one at home; he stubbornly stayed in bed until after eight o’clock before getting up.
He stretched, yawned, and rubbed his hair. After sleeping, several strands of hair stood up straight, messy and chaotic.
He grabbed his phone casually. The “Cricket Cricket” group chat was exploding.
Liang Han: Those two didn’t speak all night. What do you guys think is going on?
Xie Zhixu: What could be going on? Think for yourself. Their relationship is…
Su Haoxuan: Beichen is a first-class protected animal now. He can’t be bumped or hit. I’m afraid Muxuan has already had his soul hooked away, unlike us miserable wretches sitting in the office.
Liang Han: It’s almost nine o’clock, and neither of them has made a sound. Could it be they were too tired last night and couldn’t get up? Xie Zhixu, can we have a special exception in the future and put a camera in their room?
Xie Zhixu: [Rolling eyes].jpg. This is a decent hotel; we don’t do such filthy things.
Su Haoxuan: We must be missing so many interesting things. However, I know an even bigger piece of gossip.
Liang Han: What?!
Xie Zhixu: What?!
Qi Beichen: What?!
Su Haoxuan: Oh, so you’re finally willing to come out? A moment of spring night is worth a thousand gold.
Bai Muxuan: Stop talking nonsense. We booked two rooms precisely because we were afraid of you all gossiping.
Qi Beichen: Exactly, just like an old woman’s foot-binding cloth—long and annoying—and you’re all suspicious. But, Haoxuan-ge, what’s this piece of gossip you mentioned?
Xie Zhixu: [Rolling eyes].jpg. A typical heartless ingrate.
Su Haoxuan: Su’s distributors are currently negotiating a natural gas import project in Country R. Among the hotels they were staying at, a billionaire in the top ten of the rich list checked in with his wife a few days ago. The next day, it was discovered that his wife had drowned in the pond, claiming it was an accidental fall into the water. The news is still being blocked domestically. Does this count as top-tier high-society gossip?
Qi Beichen: What, what, what? A murder case, or was it a real accidental fall?
Xie Zhixu: You might as well just say the name directly. Gu Ting drowned.
Qi Beichen: ?! Is that true!
Liang Han: ?! Is that true!
Xie Zhixu: It’s true. The family has been notified. To be honest, I don’t know the specifics either. Wait for the police announcement.
“Ding ding ding…”
There was a knock on the door. Qi Beichen, still wrapped in the quilt around his waist, fell to his knees beside the bed with a “thud,” his knees sporting another layer of blue and purple.
He opened the door, scratching his head, his hair all messy.
Bai Muxuan was already fully dressed. He had originally booked the trip to Nanshan Temple today, but seeing Qi Beichen like this…
“Chatting very enthusiastically, I see.”
Qi Beichen scratched his head. “Um, I slept well yesterday, so I woke up a bit late, and then I saw…”
“And then you saw gossip, and couldn’t help but chat a bit more.”
Qi Beichen flushed, blinked, and winked at Bai Muxuan. “Muxuan-ge, you really understand me.”
“Fortunately, you’re up. The car to Nanshan Temple is at 8:30. Any later and we’ll miss it. Is there anything you need to bring?”
Qi Beichen glanced at the time fifteen minutes left and looked at the clothes he was wearing. “Um, let me go change and I’ll be right there.”
Bai Muxuan noticed the bruise on Qi Beichen’s leg at a glance. “How did you get hurt again?”
“I bumped into it getting out of bed just now. It’s fine, not serious. Going to make a wish is more important.”
Qi Beichen tugged at the quilt, his clothes wrapped into a ball, and he fell to the ground with a “thud.”
“Beichen, although we’re going to a temple, you don’t need to perform such grand courtesies.”
“It was the quilt’s doing, not mine! What’s going on? Could this quilt be alive…” Qi Beichen pulled hard.
Bai Muxuan sighed on the side, shaking his head helplessly.
Seeing Bai Muxuan’s helpless expression, Qi Beichen lifted his pajamas, threw them onto the bed, and pulled out his suitcase.
“Cling clang…”
The suitcase buckle popped open, and round objects bounced to his feet, then rolled over to Bai Muxuan’s sneakers. A suitcase full of clothes and messy skincare products scattered all over the floor.
Bai Muxuan frowned. “I’ll buy you a new suitcase later.”
“Muxuan-ge, you’re really thoughtful. I’ll be ready in a second! It’s all good.”
Qi Beichen tugged hard at his clothes, conveniently pulling his collar up.
“It’s cold on the mountain. Wear more.”