After their major fallout, they had remained cold toward each other for three full months. Having not seen him for so long, Qi Bailu had harbored a faint sense of longing, but after just one day back together, not a trace of it remained. Zheng Kunyu was still just as loathsome and infuriating as ever. The next day, Qi Bailu didn't even bother getting out of bed.
"Stop acting spoiled," Zheng Kunyu said.
"..."
How was this acting spoiled? Qi Bailu tried to pull his leg away, but this time, instead of letting him flee, Zheng Kunyu actually withdrew himself. Qi Bailu couldn't move; he was too lazy to get up and clean himself, so he just lay there rubbing his aching thighs. Zheng Kunyu sat there watching him for a while before eventually lying down beside him, resting a hand on the crown of his head. Since the movie had just wrapped, Qi Bailu’s hair was still quite short, feeling like a dense cactus to the touch.
"Grow your hair out this time," Zheng Kunyu said out of the blue.
Qi Bailu thought to himself: *Does he think I’m Rapunzel?* As if he could let his hair down so Zheng could climb the tower.
Qi Bailu stopped rubbing his legs and slowly rolled over to face him. Zheng Kunyu watched him from the same position. Qi Bailu stared at him for a long time, his clear eyes fixed on Zheng Kunyu, a flicker of complex emotion passing through them. Zheng Kunyu waited in silence, expecting him to say something.
In the end, Qi Bailu simply scolded, "Stop acting spoiled."
"..."
For once, Zheng Kunyu fell silent. His gaze sharpened instantly, showing Qi Bailu the meaning of "ferocious," but Qi Bailu no longer fell for his tricks. He simply closed his eyes and pretended not to see.
During their first week back in Beijing, Zheng Kunyu didn't mention Tahiti once. Qi Bailu assumed he had forgotten. Besides, Jinhe Film was currently facing some tax troubles, and Zheng Kunyu was busy with social engagements. They didn't actually see each other that often, let alone have time to discuss going on vacation.
While Zheng Kunyu didn't bring it up, Lin Yuewei did. It just so happened that she had finished a film recently and wanted to take a breather. Knowing Qi Bailu had wrapped his project, she called to ask if he wanted to travel together.
"Is it just you?" Qi Bailu asked.
"Just me," Lin Yuewei answered readily. "I want to go to the beach. What do you say? Are we going, or do you have somewhere else in mind?"
Qi Bailu was tempted. Since Zheng Kunyu was so busy and looked to be occupied for another ten days or so, he went ahead and settled the Tahiti itinerary with Lin Yuewei.
That evening, Zheng Kunyu hadn't said whether he was coming over, so Qi Bailu assumed he wasn't. He happily ordered barbecue delivery; because Zheng Kunyu disliked barbecue, Qi Bailu rarely had the chance to eat junk food when they were together.
The current trend was "spontaneous trips," so Qi Bailu and Lin Yuewei scheduled theirs for the very next day. Qi Bailu had already packed his bags. Before his food arrived, he sent a message to Zheng Kunyu saying he was flying to Tahiti tomorrow.
He forgot to mention he was going with Lin Yuewei. After putting down his phone, he buried his head in his search for his passport. A short while later, the doorbell rang. Thinking it was the delivery driver, he went down to open the door. To his surprise, he saw Zheng Kunyu’s car slowly backing into the garage. There wasn't a delivery man in sight.
Zheng Kunyu parked and stepped out of the car. Qi Bailu watched as a motorcycle pulled up to the gate. A uniformed courier checked the house number, saw Zheng Kunyu standing there, and called out kindly from a distance, "Hi, your barbecue?"
Zheng Kunyu paused and glanced at Qi Bailu, who was partially hidden by the shrubbery. Qi Bailu thought: *No, it’s your barbecue.* He hurried out from the dark shadows into the courier's line of sight to accept the delivery.
After seeing off the courier, Qi Bailu closed the gate. Seeing Zheng Kunyu waiting for him, he said, "Did you see the message I sent..."
Before he could finish, Qi Bailu could tell from the expression on Zheng Kunyu’s face that he had not only seen it but was also quite angry.
"It was a sudden decision," Qi Bailu explained.
"You're going with him, aren't you?"
"Yes, I made plans with her."
Zheng Kunyu seemingly hadn't expected him to admit it so directly. He narrowed his eyes, his expression shifting into a cold glare. "Did you think you could hide it from me?"
"I wasn't trying to hide it from you."
This sentence made Zheng Kunyu’s face pale, because in his eyes, Qi Bailu’s face was full of an indifferent, carefree ease. He stepped up to Qi Bailu, looming over him, and said coldly, "Then you must have worked very hard these past few days to put on such an act."
Qi Bailu didn't know what kind of madness was making him so caustic. "Are you blaming me for not telling you sooner?"
The calmer Qi Bailu’s voice became, the more it sounded like provocation and indifference to Zheng Kunyu. Zheng Kunyu grabbed his arm, pulling him closer, and stared him down. "I didn't think you would actually dare—"
"Why are you jealous of her?"
Zheng Kunyu gripped his arm tight, his gaze looking as if he wanted to crush him, as if Qi Bailu had said something incredibly cruel. They stood in a standoff for a moment until Qi Bailu, hurt by the grip, winced and struggled. "When I went out with Yuewei last time, you didn't object!"
At the mention of Lin Yuewei’s name, Zheng Kunyu’s expression turned strange, as if the cold, hard mask he had been wearing suddenly became a superficial, hollow symbol.
Qi Bailu also felt the strangeness and looked up at Zheng Kunyu’s face. Their gazes met like two signals on different frequencies, taking a long time to translate each other's language.
"The 'him' you were talking about... it couldn't be..."
Just as Qi Bailu uttered the "R" sound of Ruan, Zheng Kunyu’s chest heaved slightly. He gave Qi Bailu a sudden push back, cutting him off. Qi Bailu stood there holding his barbecue, processing the realization for a few seconds. Zheng Kunyu turned and walked away without a word. Qi Bailu followed him, drawling, "Zheng Kunyu!"
Zheng Kunyu ignored him.
*We were both so stupid just now,* Qi Bailu thought. He was the one who should be angry; he had been misunderstood for no reason.
By the time he returned to the living room, Zheng Kunyu had already gone upstairs. Qi Bailu still felt it was too much of a coincidence; Zheng Kunyu wouldn't have suddenly misunderstood him just because of that one message. He pulled out his phone to check his messages, but nothing had changed.
After a moment's thought, Qi Bailu opened his chat with Ruan Qiuji, then clicked on Ruan Qiuji’s social feed.
He saw that Ruan Qiuji’s latest update was from a few hours ago. It was a row of photos showing the sea in Tahiti. From the corner of one photo, it was clear Ruan Qiuji was sunbathing on the beach.
Well, wasn't that a coincidence.
Thus, two days later, Qi Bailu never imagined this trip would turn into such a "dreamlike" journey. As he and Lin Yuewei lay on beach chairs, watching Zheng Kunyu and Ruan Qiuji talking while carrying their respective sailboards toward the shimmering sea, he still couldn't quite figure out how things had ended up this way.
When they were preparing to go windsurfing, the two men had even shaken hands and encouraged each other... It seemed that no matter how much they tore at each other in private, they maintained appearances in public.
Lin Yuewei, wearing sunglasses, lazily watched the two men walk away. She casually asked Qi Bailu, "Hey, which of those two do you think has a better body?"
Qi Bailu held his coconut, hesitating for a moment. Ruan Qiuji certainly looked attractive, but Zheng Kunyu felt very...
"What do you think?" Qi Bailu spat out his straw, tossing the hot potato back to Lin Yuewei.
Lin Yuewei thought about it, unable to decide. She turned her head and said, "Both are pretty good?"
***
