Chapter 14: The Ascent and the Fall

Xie Xu’s chosen path was indeed less crowded, free from fan blockades, but the road itself was incredibly uneven.

With Xie Xu cycling at a breakneck pace, Guan Qing felt like he was in freefall multiple times.

Unable to bear it any longer, Guan Qing was forced to lean forward, tightly embracing Xie Xu.

He inhaled Xie Xu’s fresh scent, tinged with a hint of sweat, and the subtle pheromones that couldn’t be suppressed during exertion.

Guan Qing had never quite discerned the exact scent of Xie Xu’s pheromones, yet smelling them always lifted his spirits.

They evoked images of summer, sunshine, and a sensation he remembered from years ago: the flutter in his heart when Xie Xu used to smile at him.

“Slow down!” he shouted loudly into Xie Xu’s ear.

Xie Xu yelled back, straining his voice, “What did you say?”

“Can’t you, slow down!” Guan Qing repeated, louder.

Xie Xu laughed, shouting back, “Thank you!”

‘He’s not praising you,’ Guan Qing thought.

The wind whistled past his ears, and the sun shone brightly today.

Xie Xu burst into laughter, carried by the wind.

Despite feeling quite dizzy, Guan Qing miraculously found himself happy, too. He even felt an uncontrollable urge to laugh alongside Xie Xu.

****

After a little more riding, Xie Xu suddenly braked.

Guan Qing bumped his head against Xie Xu’s, then clutched his forehead, asking dazedly, “What’s wrong?”

Xie Xu helped him dismount, then led Guan Qing by the hand, pushing the bicycle into a dark alley.

Guan Qing, feeling as though he had just stepped off a roller coaster, allowed himself to be led.

Xie Xu stopped the bike and cautiously peeked out of the alley.

“…Huh?” Guan Qing murmured.

“A large crowd detected a hundred meters away,” Xie Xu reported, pressing the earpiece in his right ear.

Guan Qing then realized Xie Xu was wearing an earpiece, like an agent on a mission.

Xie Xu whispered, “What’s the situation? Oh, the mall nearby suddenly has a big sale, and a group of aunties showed up. Alright, I’ll hide here for a bit. Keep monitoring the road conditions and give me the optimal solution.”

Guan Qing mused, ‘No wonder he dared to cycle out alone; he has an entire technical team operating behind the scenes.’

At the same time, he found himself wanting to laugh. The entire situation felt so incredible: cycling with Xie Xu, only to encounter a horde of shopping aunties halfway and be forced to hide.

The feeling was contradictory, neither quite real nor utterly charming in its reality.

Xie Xu ended the call and turned to Guan Qing. Guan Qing’s nose was glistening with sweat, his cheeks flushed, and his hair, damp with perspiration, clung to his face.

A faint smile played on his lips, making it seem as though he was genuinely amused.

Xie Xu froze.

Baffled, Guan Qing assumed Xie Xu was thirsty. He went to a nearby vending machine, bought a bottle of water, twisted the cap loose, and handed the bottle to Xie Xu, holding it from the bottom.

Xie Xu, however, didn’t take it. Instead, he reached out, held Guan Qing’s hand, and drank nearly half the bottle directly from Guan Qing’s grasp.

A jolt ran through Guan Qing, his fingertips tingling.

As Xie Xu looked up, sunlight fell upon his face. His eyes, cast downwards, softened as they met Guan Qing’s.

Clear droplets, whether sweat or water, traced a path from his jawline down his neck, pausing momentarily at his Adam’s apple. In that instant, it became a slow-motion replay, etched and reshaped in Guan Qing’s vision.

Guan Qing’s heart pounded. ‘Is he trying to flirt with me? He must like me, perhaps even more than I thought.’

Then another thought followed: ‘Oh no, I really like him.’

Even after all these years together, in moments like these, his heart still raced uncontrollably.

Xie Xu finished the entire bottle of water in one go, crushed it flat, and tossed it into a trash can three meters away with a cool, basketball-like shot.

The man seemed to glow.

Xie Xu flashed Guan Qing a roguish smile, then used his thumb to wipe away a bead of water from the corner of his mouth.

Like a mischievous student cornering someone against a wall, he propped a hand beside Guan Qing’s ear and slowly leaned in—

“…!”

At the last moment, Guan Qing reached out and pushed Xie Xu away.

****

Guan Qing, nearing his limit, changed the subject. “Uh, how exactly does this ‘standing ticket upgrade’ you mentioned work?”

Xie Xu looked at him, the rogue disappearing, replaced by a hint of dejection and sadness. Guan Qing instantly felt like a heartless brute.

After a moment, Xie Xu perked up and said, “A standing ticket upgrade, of course, means upgrading to a sitting ticket.”

Guan Qing eyed him suspiciously. “And how much does my upgrade cost?”

He wanted to see where Xie Xu would conjure a seat cushion from.

“It’s free,” Xie Xu said, then tapped his own cheek, indicating the price.

Guan Qing remained expressionless. “Then I won’t upgrade.”

“Don’t,” Xie Xu conceded. “I was joking. No charge.”

Guan Qing remained skeptical. The wave of aunties had grandly departed, and Xie Xu walked over to the bicycle, saying, “Sit.”

“Wait,” Guan Qing looked at the bare rear seat. “Sit where?”

Xie Xu looked at him as if he were the strange one. “Where else? There’s only one seat, isn’t there?”

He then stepped onto the rear standing board himself.

Guan Qing: “………………”

****

Carrying a man nearly six feet three inches tall, Guan Qing struggled along the bumpy path.

His face turned crimson from the effort, pushing forward purely on willpower. Especially on uphill climbs, he felt he was about to collapse, about to slide backward with Xie Xu and fall sprawling.

Yet, Xie Xu whispered nonsense into his ear: “Mr. Guan, are you giving up already?”

From the moment he got on the bike, Guan Qing had been wondering, ‘Why am I enduring this torment?’

For money? For Ye Zi? It seemed to be neither.

He wasn’t short on money, and his relationship with Ye Zi hadn’t reached that point.

Gritting his teeth, his vision blurred by sweat, he compromised. “Hah, I can’t do it anymore. Can you call your assistant to drive over? If not, we can just walk.”

Xie Xu shook his head, his voice filled with disapproval. “A man shouldn’t say he can’t do it.”

Guan Qing had completely given up.

He pleaded, “I really can’t. I can’t ride anymore. I want to go home.”

He begged, “Xie Xu, you ride… or let’s just go back. I want to go home.”

Xie Xu, his arms wrapped around Guan Qing’s head, refused to let go. He rubbed his chin against the top of Guan Qing’s head—Guan Qing was too exhausted to notice what he was doing—and said contentedly, “If you don’t want to pedal, then don’t.”

“Really?” Guan Qing asked.

“Mm.” Just as Guan Qing was about to stop, Xie Xu held him back, whispering in his ear, “If you don’t want to pedal, let go and stop pushing.”

Guan Qing: “…”

He didn’t dare look back, dismissing it lightly. “What kind of joke are you playing?”

Having finally conquered the uphill climb, Xie Xu leaned in close, asking in a low, alluring voice, “Do you dare?”

Guan Qing was both exasperated and amused. “I don’t dare.”

Xie Xu rested his head on Guan Qing’s neck, rubbing against him, and whispered, “Do you trust me?”

“…”

‘Do I… trust him?’

He didn’t know himself.

He pedaled strenuously. They had entered the suburbs, and ahead, with no buildings to obstruct the view, a vast expanse of blue sky unfolded after the slope.

It was an unbelievably clear blue.

Xie Xu wrapped his arms around him, looking forward with him, a smile playing on his lips. “Guan Qing, riding alone is tiring, isn’t it?”

He coaxed, “Then let go. Together, we can…”

“Trust me.”

—Trust me.

‘If one person carrying two is too exhausting to climb, then let us fall… together.’

Guan Qing’s pupils widened abruptly.

“I…”

He didn’t know what he was thinking. In that moment, he felt like a sailor lured by a siren, instinctively letting go.

The bicycle, propelled by inertia, moved forward for a bit, then immediately entered a downhill slope. Without hands on the handlebars, the front wheel wobbled forward, gradually accelerating downhill, then hit a small stone, causing the bike to tilt forward—

They became airborne.

Xie Xu held him tightly in his embrace. At the peak of their ascent, he kissed Guan Qing deeply on the lips.

The entire sky unfolded before his eyes, the white-edged coastline at the horizon, the sunlight, and Xie Xu, who was kissing him.

Though it lasted only an instant, these images were seared onto his retina.

He felt himself… flying. Not just his body.

Something had changed.

It was as if a dark-toned film had suddenly been flooded with countless high-saturation, vibrant colors.

And at the center of all this color was Xie Xu, holding him firmly.

Falling from a great height.

.

They landed in soft sand.

Guan Qing felt as though he had fallen into the heart of a cloud. Xie Xu held him, his eyes closed, his chin resting contentedly on Guan Qing’s head, and said:

“How was the feeling of falling?

“Not as bad as you thought, right?

“As long as you’re with me… how could I let you get hurt?”

But in that instant, Guan Qing’s thoughts were entirely different:

He hadn’t fully trusted Xie Xu in that moment.

But he was willing.

Taking on this job wasn’t for money, nor for Ye Zi; it was solely for Xie Xu.

—For Xie Xu, he was willing to fall countless times, to tumble endlessly.

He didn’t trust Xie Xu…

But he wasn’t afraid of pain.

He could endure any kind of suffering.

.

Having gotten his way, Xie Xu was in a state of utter bliss—

He rolled around on the sand, still embracing Guan Qing.

Guan Qing finally managed to wriggle free from his arms and pushed him. Xie Xu rolled twice more, then lay on his back like a large dog with its belly up, almost panting with his tongue out. He looked over, appearing quite aggrieved.

Guan Qing feigned indignation. “Were you taking advantage of me just now amidst the chaos?”

Xie Xu first looked stunned, then nodded. Guan Qing almost saw his tail slowly droop behind him.

He thought for a moment, then finally remembered his persona as the domineering film emperor who ‘forced a sweet darling into a contract of servitude.’ He forcefully sat up, crossed his legs, sand still clinging to his hair, and stated earnestly:

“I was protecting you. How is that taking advantage?”

“You—” Guan Qing was momentarily speechless.

“I—” Xie Xu mimicked his tone, grinning. “What about me? Yes, I kissed you, I hugged you. So what, Mr. Guan? Are you going to sue me?”

Guan Qing, having been verbally bullied so much, was momentarily enraged. “What if I do sue you?”

Xie Xu, calm as ever, replied, “Then we can just get our marriage certificate while we’re at it.”

“…”

Xie Xu’s expression seemed to be joking, but in reality, he stared at the sand, his hands idly sifting through it, his ears perked high.

Guan Qing didn’t know what to say.

‘You finally deigned to propose? Or… is this proposal too late?’

He felt as though he had finally grasped the root of their problem.

Xie Xu wouldn’t do such things without reason; he must be hinting at something. He could indeed fall with Xie Xu, for he wasn’t afraid of pain.

But he was afraid of Xie Xu getting hurt.

How could he bear to see the person he cherished so deeply fall into the mud with him?

He didn’t want that kind of love.

He remembered his mother, who had compromised and endured in love, dropping out of university, having no job, and leaving with his father, supposedly to build a life, but in reality, just drifting.

A poor couple’s life is filled with sorrow. When he was two, his father had an affair, left with a wealthy woman, and abandoned his wife and child.

After years of confusion, of self-righteous ‘sacrifice for love,’ Guan Qing finally saw himself clearly for the first time.

The person he loved could not fall with him.

Either they would part ways forever, or…

They would climb that bicycle together, no matter how slowly—

And ascend.

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