This low murmur sent electricity coursing through Wu Man’s entire body, throwing her breathing into disarray.

She lightly thumped his back: “This isn’t pursuing someone, this is being a hooligan.”

“Then let Sister punish me.” Zhui Ye directly carried her inside the door, setting her down on the sofa before releasing his arms. He crouched in position, looking at her: “I’ll listen to everything you say.”

“Then I’ll tell you to leave right now?”

She asked deliberately.

Zhui Ye’s breathing hitched as he lightly bit his teeth and wrinkled his nose: “Sister, don’t you want to see me?”

He simply started acting coquettish.

Wu Man was immediately worn down by this tone, losing all her temper.

“You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I ordered takeout, stay and eat before you go.”

The doorbell rang from outside at just the right moment. Wu Man raised herself on her tiptoes and kicked his knee lightly as if by accident: “Go open the door.”

He immediately bounced up from the floor, jogging toward the entrance. When he returned carrying a bag, he asked curiously: “What did you order?”

“Avocado salmon rice and salad.” She thought about it, “The salad is for me, the rice is for you.”

“How can this fill you up?”

“I usually only eat a salad for dinner. I’m in a good mood today so I ordered extra.”

“That won’t do.” He furrowed his brow, “Let me reorder a hotpot, and get some alcohol while we’re at it.”

“There’s no need…”

“Moving into a new place requires eating a hot meal, Sister definitely hasn’t paid attention to this, right?” Zhui Ye pulled out his phone, muttering: “The proper sense of ceremony must be observed, especially for such a celebratory occasion.”

Wu Man sat dumbly on the sofa, watching him earnestly search for nearby hotpot delivery. Even with his head lowered, his height made him stand tall, instantly filling her small dwelling to capacity.

Seeing no response from her, Zhui Ye turned his face, his eyes pleading as he asked softly: “Is that okay, Sister?”

She nodded vaguely.

Zhui Ye then smiled with curved eyes, counting on his fingers: “No spicy, must have shrimp paste, yam, duck blood, right?”

A flash of surprise crossed Wu Man’s face. How terrifying—he remembered more clearly than her assistant Wei Wei.

“…How do you know?”

“When we ate hotpot during ‘Acting School’, you sat across from me and especially loved picking these dishes. I remembered them all.”

Wu Man was speechless. Her heart melted into a pool of tender wet pink in that moment.

Zhui Ye finished ordering in a few taps, tossing his phone aside.

“It’ll arrive in about half an hour. I’ll take advantage of this time to shower.”

Wu Man’s eyes widened: “I don’t have anything for you to change into here.”

Zhui Ye patted his single-shoulder bag: “I brought everything.”

…She pondered how this didn’t seem quite right—he came too well-prepared.

“The bathroom is over there?”

He pointed toward the corner. Wu Man nodded helplessly: “Don’t make everything wet and messy. There are new towels in the cabinet below, you can use those.”

“Understood.”

His earnest listening made Wu Man feel like a preschool teacher educating a child on how to bathe.

A child whose back was broad enough to stretch the shoulder seams of his sweater perfectly flat. Wu Man propped her head on her hand, watching his back as he entered the bathroom, unable to stop herself from smiling.

Soon, the sound of rushing water came from inside, as if the entire room was enveloped in a misty rain.

Her eardrums were pounded by the sound of the water stream, making her feel restless all over, unable to sit still. She simply got up and paced back and forth by the floor-to-ceiling windows. Even the soles of her feet were itching, as if the damp, hot steam was drifting out from that small room, chasing her relentlessly.

Wu Man simply turned on the television. Inside was the movie she’d watched last night. She let it play, wanting the characters’ dialogue to compete with the moist sound of water, to distract her attention.

After a while, the water sound stopped. This torturous rain had finally finished falling.

Wu Man’s fingers drew circles on the sofa as she deliberately ignored the footsteps approaching her from behind.

“What is Sister watching so intently?”

He stood behind her sofa, asking questions while drying his hair.

A few drops from his wet hair splashed onto her cheek. Wu Man tilted her face up, meeting his face looking down at her. Backlit by the ceiling lamp, shadows carved his facial contours into something dangerous, making her momentarily breathless.

She reached out her hand, touching his wet, slippery hair and pushing it aside: “Dry it properly, don’t shake your head around like a little dog.”

Zhui Ye braced both hands on the sofa, his voice carrying the humid tone of someone fresh from bathing: “I brought the disc for ‘Loser Becomes King.’ Sister should just watch that instead. I hope you’ll be the first person in China to see it.”

“Watch you get beaten until you’re utterly battered?”

“I won in the end!”

“…Fool, you spoiled it.”

Zhui Ye puffed out his cheeks, his face showing a dejected expression.

“We’ll see. I’m not very interested in that movie.”

This certainly wasn’t the truth. Actually, she was incredibly curious. But ever since learning about the behind-the-scenes footage, knowing how that scene was filmed, she was especially afraid of witnessing that famous scene.

She couldn’t bear to see him being bullied. She knew she couldn’t handle it.

Wu Man’s gaze swept across his black T-shirt. This body looked so youthfully vigorous, but beneath the clothes were probably countless accumulated bruises and dark purple marks.

However, Zhui Ye thought she was genuinely uninterested and listlessly said “oh,” then when he heard the doorbell, his eyelids drooped as he said: “The hotpot’s here, I’ll go get it.”

After that, he didn’t mention “Loser Becomes King” again.

Wu Man didn’t notice the little one’s emotional downturn. She hadn’t had hotpot in too long and was enchanted by the three-flavor broth base, throwing herself into it wholeheartedly, her appetite greatly stimulated.

She glanced at the large bunch of beer on the table: “Didn’t you buy way too much?”

He pushed a can toward her: “Actually, Sister, you could try the feeling of being drunk.” He paused, “Don’t be afraid of losing control, because I’m here.”

She pulled open the can tab and gulped down a large mouthful without hesitation, saying lightly: “I’m no longer afraid of the feeling of losing control.”

Zhui Ye froze slightly, raising his beer and lightly tapping it against her can.

“Then it looks like I must get Sister completely drunk today.”

White steam from the hotpot dispersed, filling the small living room with a rich aroma, though this smell would be terrible after they finished eating. She ordered Zhui Ye to open all the windows.

As a result, a small mosquito took advantage of the gap to sneak in.

Wu Man said in surprise: “How can there still be mosquitoes in the middle of winter?!”

Zhui Ye remained calm and composed: “Don’t worry, Sister. When I’m around, mosquitoes generally come bite me.”

“Mosquitoes really like biting me too. What’s your blood type? Is it O?”

There was a popular belief that mosquitoes most liked biting type O blood.

“I’m B.”

“But I’m B too. We’re done for—who knows which of us the mosquito will go for first.” Wu Man slapped her forehead, “There’s an electric mosquito swatter in the loft, go get it.”

“Oh, there’s even a loft.”

The little one’s eyes brightened as he ran up the corner staircase in a few steps, not coming down for quite a while.

Wu Man had already clapped her hands together at the mosquito countless times in the air: “Why did you take so long? I already have several bumps…”

Zhui Ye’s expression had a trace of strangeness she couldn’t quite read.

He slowly approached her, suddenly opening his arms like a swift cheetah pouncing on the wheat field of his dreams.

Wu Man was knocked backward onto the sofa by his pounce, the beer in her hand nearly spilling all over her.

“Hey…” She angrily blocked him with her elbow, glaring at him, “What are you suddenly acting crazy about?”

Zhui Ye buried his head, nuzzling lightly at her shoulder, breathing in her scent, giggling like a little fool.

“I saw it.”

Wu Man wondered: “Did you see a shooting star or what?” Why so excited?

“‘Time Magazine,’ you put it in the loft. I saw it.” Zhui Ye propped up his upper body, staring intently at her eyes, not allowing any emotion on her face to escape him, “You flipped through those pages about me many times, right? The pages are all creased.”

“…”

Wu Man was speechless. When she didn’t know what to say, changing the subject was the right move.

She raised the beer in her hand: “If you don’t get up, I’m pouring it on you.”

Zhui Ye said shamelessly: “Pour it then. I’ll just rub it on you.”

Wu Man still didn’t want to admit it, making up something casually: “Someone newly hired at the studio is your fan. She bought it.”

“Which person? I’ll meet her next time.”

“…” She was worn down by his persistence until she had no temper left, “I bought it, okay?”

However, Zhui Ye’s expression wasn’t the smile or obvious happiness she’d expected.

He gently furrowed his brow, resting his head at the position of her heart, and spoke a line from “Brokeback Mountain.”

“I wish I knew how to quit you.” His voice sank down, very low, very low, “When you were still together with him, when you distanced yourself from me again and again, I couldn’t help thinking this. But I knew I had no solution.”

Her throat was blocked by an unnamed heaviness, as if it were his emotion that she perceived along with him.

“That time on my birthday, what you wanted to give me was actually a poem, right?” Wu Man gently combed through the fine hair at the back of his neck with her fingers, “I carefully finished reading the book you gave me. Barnyard grass and rice are different—I know that now.”

They were very similar, yet fundamentally different.

Rice was a crop welcomed by spring, growing up according to plan, smooth sailing all the way.

But barnyard grass was a malignant weed growing in rice fields. It had to compete with rice for nutrients to survive. Once discovered, it meant premature death. Therefore, barnyard grass’s growth was extremely turbulent.

Zhui Ye nestled in her embrace, enjoying her caressing, murmuring with closed eyes: “Is barnyard grass a despicable plant? Having to grow savagely by robbing others of their life. Not only that, it also has to steal others’ lovers. Otherwise it can only be alone, growing heterodoxically in this world.”

“But I don’t think you’re barnyard grass.” Wu Man softened her tone, “Do you know? You’re actually a vast expanse of soil that can save vines on the verge of dying.”

Zhui Ye raised his eyes, staring fixedly at her.

As if this simple sentence from her had redeemed him.

Wu Man rarely said such sweet words. Just after finishing, her face flushed red with embarrassment as she pushed him off her body, stuttering: “Didn’t you say you brought ‘Loser Becomes King’? Take it out and let’s watch it.”

Zhui Ye immediately bounced up: “I’ll go get it!”

He enthusiastically pulled the disc from his backpack, turned off the lights, leaving only the white fluorescent glow from the television.

Wu Man grabbed a cushion to hold, lest she be at a loss when seeing that famous scene. She needed something in her hands to squeeze and knead to release that pent-up frustration.

This time Zhui Ye was quite well-behaved, sitting obediently to one side like an elementary student having his homework inspected.

They watched while drinking. When she saw him beaten nearly to death by Declan, her heart clenched sharply. The can was crushed out of shape, bursting with beer foam.

Zhui Ye was startled by her reaction, trembling all over.

She was gradually getting tipsy, empty cans scattered by her feet as she casually tossed them on the floor, rolling everywhere with clattering sounds.

Zhui Ye could only collect them while saying with some regret: “Sister, maybe… drink a little less.”

She ran down from the sofa, drunkenly approaching the television, pointing at Declan’s face and cursing angrily: “You’re abusing a child, I’m calling the police to have them arrest you!”

Zhui Ye: “…”

He was certain she was completely drunk now.

So when Sister got drunk, she threw drunken tantrums.

What to do—she looked even more adorable speaking nonsense.

Zhui Ye hugged an armful of empty cans, standing in place foolishly watching Wu Man. The fluorescent glow from the television illuminated her profile in the darkness. She was as translucent as a firefly.

Wu Man rolled her eyes heavily at Declan on the screen, angrily turning off the television.

The entire room plunged into darkness.

She said with a thick tongue: “Not watching such aggravating stuff anymore. I’m going to look at the stars!”

She swayed unsteadily toward the loft, and Zhui Ye quickly dumped the empty cans in the trash bin and rushed over, half-supporting her to prevent her from bumping into things in the darkness or falling down the stairs.

Under his protective escort, she safely reached the loft.

Unfortunately, tonight wasn’t any kind of beautiful moonlit night. The sky was like the television downstairs that had been turned off—nothing could be seen, only remaining pitch black.

Wu Man collapsed onto the beanbag chair she’d set up. Zhui Ye, who was supporting her, was pulled down with her. Their four limbs tangled together beneath the skylight. His black T-shirt was wrinkled by her tugging, revealing patch after patch of purple bruises underneath.

Wu Man’s movements froze.

She stared dumbly at those wounds, her lips trembling slightly.

Her gaze was so serious that Zhui Ye suspected her drunkenness might have passed in this moment, that she’d already sobered up.

However, the next moment she spoke confusedly and incoherently: “So the stars came to you. One, two, three…”

Her cool fingertips caressed his wounds, lingering over each patch.

“Why are there so many stars? I can’t even count them all…”

She touched from his waist to his shoulder blade, biting her lip, and suddenly started crying.