Chapter 34: Wardrobe

The partitioned space inside this section of the wardrobe was cramped and narrow. Above their heads, a few small pieces of summer wear and pajamas emitted a pleasant fragrance—some from laundry detergent, and some from the owner of these clothes.

At this very moment, the owner of the clothes was curled up with his legs tucked against his chest, sitting deep inside the space directly beneath Zhang Xingkuo. His bathrobe was loosely parted at the collar, exposing a patch of snow-white skin.

He was the source of all the fragrance, thoroughly permeating this small enclosure with an indescribable, subtle body scent.

Aside from the knocking at the door, the room was remarkably quiet, to the extent that even their breathing was distinctly audible to one another.

With his mouth and nose covered, Yu Xi’s breathing was somewhat heavier. Every breath he exhaled struck the palm of Zhang Xingkuo’s hand, unable to escape and forming a damp, warm moisture.

His entire body was blanketed by Zhang Xingkuo’s shadow. A pair of eyes shaped like flower petals appeared exceptionally bright in the dim environment, gazing up in a pure, innocent, and clean manner. Subjected to such treatment, he showed no anger or panic—only absolute trust and indulgence, as if the other person could do whatever they pleased with him.

Little did he know how easily a demeanor like this could place him in a perilous situation.

Zhang Xingkuo stared intently at Yu Xi, only to feel a surge of heat rising and expanding in his lower abdomen. His Adam’s apple bobbed unconsciously, his voice low and raspy. “Xiao Xi…”

Yu Xi blinked, a look of confusion surfacing in his eyes. Reflected in his bright eyes was Zhang Xingkuo’s face drawing closer and closer, inexplicably prompting a faint urge to shrink back.

The knocking outside the door ceased. In its place, Yu Xi’s phone, left on the bed, began to ring.

Presumably, Sheng Yunjuan couldn’t find him and had called out of worry.

This ringtone caused Zhang Xingkuo’s advancing movement to pause.

Yu Xi hastily gave the hand covering him a gentle pat, signaling Zhang Xingkuo to let go.

After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Xingkuo released his grip, yet he refused to yield any space for Yu Xi to stand up, remaining wedged firmly outside the wardrobe.

“Xingxing, Xiaojuan left,” Yu Xi reminded Zhang Xingkuo, pointing toward the phone that was still ringing on the bed. “She’s calling me. I should probably answer it so she doesn’t worry.”

As the words left his mouth, the ringing happened to stop, falling silent.

Zhang Xingkuo said, “It stopped.”

“Oh… then could you move aside, please? Sitting here is quite uncomfortable.” The bottom of the wardrobe consisted of a hard wooden board without any padding or items. Having sat for so long without room to move, Yu Xi was indeed feeling rather uncomfortable.

His expression carried a hint of pitiful helplessness, and his tone was entirely cooperative, yet Zhang Xingkuo, who usually deferred to his wishes, did not budge. Instead, he suddenly brought up a matter from the past.

“Xiao Xi, do you still remember that summer vacation from when we were kids?” A touch of nostalgia colored Zhang Xingkuo’s voice. “When everyone played hide-and-seek together, the two of us always hid in the same spots—behind the curtains, under the bed, and inside the wardrobe… just like right now.”

As he spoke, Zhang Xingkuo pressed his knee an inch further inward, brushing against Yu Xi’s thigh and once again compressing the meager space left. At the same time, he leaned his upper body forward, his back arched as he partially crouched into the space. With his silver-gray wolf cut cascading down, he resembled a large canine even more.

Meeting Zhang Xingkuo’s eyes, Yu Xi suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity. Floating within them seemed to be an unstable, unsettling element that one dared not probe, carrying an aggressive edge that made him want to flee…

Yu Xi instinctively cast his eyes downward, avoiding the eye contact. He pulled his hands back against his chest, attempting to fend off the torso that was on the verge of pressing flush against him.

He spoke incoherently, “I—I remember, but we’ve grown up. This wardrobe is a bit too small to hide both of us. Let’s go out first—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Zhang Xingkuo abruptly drew closer again, forcing him to lean backward.

The sliding track of the wardrobe gave a very slight click as Zhang Xingkuo pulled the doors shut, leaving only a tiny, one-centimeter gap to allow air and light to enter.

Squeezed within this tiny space, they brushed against one another, their very breaths intermingling until it was nearly impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.

Yu Xi had already backed up against the innermost wall, but with such a pitifully small amount of space, there was nowhere left to hide. Striking his neck was the breath exhaled by Zhang Xingkuo, and pressed against his legs were Zhang Xingkuo’s knees.

He felt hot, uncertain whether it was due to the lack of air circulation or the heat radiating from Zhang Xingkuo’s body.

In the gloom, they caught each other’s gaze.

“When we were small, you always hid in my arms,” Zhang Xingkuo said.

A light sweat broke out on the tip of Yu Xi’s nose, and he responded with a bit of helplessness, “Mhm, I remember it all. Can we go out now? It’s really hot in here.”

“Playing hide-and-seek when we were kids always felt very thrilling.” Zhang Xingkuo let out a brief laugh, revealing a sharp canine tooth. “I’m hot right now too, and my heart is beating very fast. Feel it.”

He took Yu Xi’s retracted hand and pressed it against his own left chest.

“Is it fast?”

Thump, thump, thump. A rapid, drum-like heartbeat was transmitted from the firmly muscled chest into the palm of Yu Xi’s hand, resembling jumping tongues of flame that carried a scorching heat.

Yu Xi gave a vague murmur of assent, at a loss for words. His eyes constantly darted toward the gap in the wardrobe door, scheming for a way to escape, when he heard Zhang Xingkuo ask in a low, husky voice:

“Xiao Xi, do you want to do something… even more comfortable?”

Yu Xi’s eyes widened slightly, his gaze locking with Zhang Xingkuo’s dark eyes. He could see Zhang Xingkuo swallowing hard as if parched, his breathing ragged, matching his rapid heartbeat, as if it might burst out at any second and plunge right into his hands.

He had no idea what the other wanted to do, nor did he dare to ask. Licking his lips, he tried to shrink further inward.

His entire back was pressed flat against the wardrobe wall. He was afraid.

“Xiao Xi…”

“Ding-dong-dong-dong-dong-dong!!”

The sudden blast of a ringtone instantly shattered the bizarre, ambiguous atmosphere, delivering Yu Xi from his predicament.

“The phone is ringing again, Xingxing.” The hand Yu Xi had been forced to hold against Zhang Xingkuo’s chest shifted to clutch the fabric of his clothing, tugging gently to alert Zhang Xingkuo, whose face had instantly turned dark and sullen upon hearing the ringtone.

Zhang Xingkuo remained silent and unmoving, seemingly intent on waiting stubbornly for the phone to stop ringing on its own, just as he had done minutes prior.

However, the caller this time was exceptionally persistent; not only did the ringing continue unabated, but a knocking sound began to hammer against the door as well.

The two sounds layered together, blaring into Zhang Xingkuo’s ears like a deliberate provocation, sounding incredibly noisy and grating.

After a long while, Zhang Xingkuo hesitated to speak, but the previous mood was utterly impossible to salvage. Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair, gritted his teeth, and spat out three words: “Sheng Yunjuan.” With an aggressive momentum that looked as though he were heading to a fight, he pushed open the cabinet door and stepped out.

He grabbed the phone that was ringing incessantly on Yu Xi’s bed, the rising anger within him receiving an extra dose of fuel, burning even more fiercely.

“Heh!”

Yu Xi, poking his head out from the wardrobe, heard this furious, cold laugh. Without stopping to ask questions, he hurried over to open the door first.

The moment he saw the person standing outside the door making the phone call, Yu Xi understood the reason behind Zhang Xingkuo’s heightened fury.

It was Gu Chuanzhou.

“Xi Xi, why haven’t you been answering your phone or opening the door?” Gu Chuanzhou ended the call, looking at the youth who had only opened the door a tiny crack, revealing a head of slightly disheveled hair.

Unbeknownst to him regarding what had occurred, a flush of pink bloomed across the boy’s cheeks, his temples were slightly damp, and his breathing was unsteady, prompting an inevitable train of thought.

Gu Chuanzhou’s gaze deepened.

“I was just taking a shower…” Yu Xi used this excuse without a second thought, only to immediately feel a weight settle on his head.

Zhang Xingkuo had appeared behind him, using his height advantage to rest his chin directly on top of Yu Xi’s head while wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

“Xiao Xi and I were playing a game. What is your business?”

An act akin to a declaration of sovereignty, coupled with words dripping with provocation, instantly filled the surrounding air with the scent of gunpowder.

Gu Chuanzhou’s brows twitched slightly, the temperature in the depths of his eyes dropping to absolute zero. He looked at Zhang Xingkuo with a skin-deep smile before resting his gaze back on Yu Xi. “Playing a game?”

Yu Xi looked at Gu Chuanzhou, then at Zhang Xingkuo. Facing the burning gazes of both individuals, his inner soul desired nothing more than to flee.

“We were playing a very thrilling game, right, Xiao Xi?” Zhang Xingkuo asked, poking the mole on Yu Xi’s cheek.

“Mmh.” Yu Xi ducked his head out from Zhang Xingkuo’s embrace, then used his hand to push Zhang Xingkuo backward, evading Gu Chuanzhou’s deep, searching gaze. “I need to change my clothes.”

With that, he quickly shut the door. Worried that the two outside might argue if left alone, he leaned against the door to listen for any commotion. Hearing nothing, his heart remained suspended in an anxious flutter.

Fortunately, by the time he finished changing his clothes, the faint sound of Sheng Yunjuan’s voice echoed outside.

He opened the door to find everyone gathered at the entrance. Zhang Xingkuo and Gu Chuanzhou stood on opposite sides, completely ignoring one another. He let out a silent sigh of relief.

Seeing Yu Xi emerge from the room, the dense Sheng Yunjuan forgot all about her previous inability to find him. She said excitedly, “Xiao Xi, I heard from Brother Shuhuai that there’s a night market nearby tonight and they’re going to set off fireworks. Should we all go together?”

Yu Xi agreed. Sheng Yunjuan immediately dragged him toward her own room, requesting his help to pick out a dress.

He managed to escape his predicament in this manner, though he subsequently spent the rest of the time somewhat avoiding both Zhang Xingkuo and Gu Chuanzhou.

Gu Chuanzhou was fine; he didn’t press further regarding the incident of him and Zhang Xingkuo hiding in the room. He spoke to him in his usual gentle tone, thoughtfully buying him shaved ice, peeling crabs for him, and adjusting his collar.

Yu Xi felt that Gu Chuanzhou probably hadn’t taken the matter to heart, so he reverted to his usual demeanor around him.

However, he was genuinely a bit frightened by Zhang Xingkuo. He didn’t speak a single word to him throughout the evening, and the moment he saw Zhang Xingkuo draw near, he would run off to stand beside someone else.

By the time the fireworks concluded, it was getting late, and the group returned to the villa to rest in their respective rooms.

Yu Xi did not go to sleep early. After washing up, he headed down to the first floor to Pei Wang’s room to tutor him with his homework.

High school seniors could catch a brief breath during the National Day holiday, but the price was a mountain of exam papers.

Pei Wang loved to play and possessed poor patience; his academic performance couldn’t be called exceptionally stellar, but his attitude was earnest, and he would conscientiously complete his assignments.

Yu Xi checked over his papers once, focused on strengthening the sections where his science subjects were weaker, and offered a few pointers until the time was nearly up.

“Writing these papers makes my head ache.” Pei Wang resisted the urge to tear the loathsome papers to shreds. He really disliked studying, but compared to enduring the agony of academics, he disliked the idea of becoming a useless, uneducated second-generation rich kid even more. Because of this, his admiration for Yu Xi grew exponentially. “How did you manage to become the top scorer in the science division back then?”

How did he manage it?

Certain fragments of the past that he was reluctant to recall surfaced before Yu Xi’s eyes.

Dirty dishes and oily plates piling up to fill two bathtubs, a workshop filled with constant noise and flying lint, a rental room bedboard so cold and hard that it made his bones ache, and the muffled shouting and cursed hammering on doors that he had to block out to endure… No matter the time or place, what was gripped tightly in his hands was always a textbook or an exam paper, as if holding onto his sole hope and future.

He knew clearly that to lead his mother away from all of that, the only things he could rely on were paper and pen. The more problems he solved, the closer he was to success.

After a long pause, Yu Xi answered, “Numbers do not lie. As long as you are sufficiently earnest and careful, the correct answer will present itself to you.”

“…” Pei Wang’s mind went blank for a few seconds, his features wrinkling into a ball. “Teacher Xiao Xi, could you please speak some Chinese?”

Yu Xi let out a soft laugh.

Pei Wang threw his pen aside. “Forget it, why don’t we study again tomorrow? I’m exhausted from playing today.”

“You can.” Yu Xi nodded, before shifting his tone. “If you rest today, you’ll have to do double tomorrow.”

Pei Wang: “??? That shouldn’t be necessary! For today’s tasks, I only have one paper left!”

“Studying is just like that—there are no shortcuts. Once you fail to persist and slack off, it is easy to fall behind, and it isn’t that simple to make up for it.” Yu Xi’s tone remained gentle, but the words he spoke were serious and brooked no refusal. “If you still want me to continue teaching you, then you must listen to me.”

Pei Wang gritted his teeth. “…I’ll write.”

“Mhm, keep it up. I’m going to sleep.” Yu Xi was already very sleepy. Leaving Pei Wang’s room, he ascended to the second floor. Before his hand could turn the doorknob to open his room, he suddenly heard the sound of something shattering from the room to his left.

Feeling somewhat worried, he knocked gently on the door.

Only after a considerable delay was the door opened.

Lin Shuhuai opened it a fraction. Upon seeing it was Yu Xi, a warm smile appeared on his face. “Xiao Xi, what’s wrong?”

Yu Xi couldn’t see past Lin Shuhuai into the interior of the room. He asked, “I heard something break. Is everything okay?”

“It’s nothing, I merely knocked over the desk lamp by accident.” Lin Shuhuai dismissed it casually.

“I see… then you must be careful when handling the glass shards.” Perceiving that Lin Shuhuai seemed to value his private space, Yu Xi did not offer to help directly and bid him goodnight.

Only, as he turned around, he caught a faint, peculiar scent in the air.

It resembled rust… or perhaps, the smell of blood?