Chapter 77

Originally, Li Sipei and Mi Zhao were already eye-catching enough, but with the woman’s sudden actions, some passersby gradually stopped to watch.

Li Sipei’s expression darkened, as if he had guessed the woman’s intentions, but he still placed Mi Zhao on the ground.

Under the scrutinizing gazes of the onlookers, Mi Zhao’s face burned as he repeated the question Li Sipei had just asked the woman.

This time, the woman finally responded, but instead of answering, she solemnly asked what their relationship was.

Mi Zhao looked bewildered and turned to Li Sipei for help.

Taking the bag of towels from Mi Zhao’s hands, Li Sipei leaned in and explained in a low voice, “She probably thinks you’re underage.”

Mi Zhao was startled. “Huh?”

“And that I’m an adult.”

Mi Zhao: “…”

Alright, he got it.

Looking at the woman again, he indeed found a hint of scrutiny in her gaze as it flickered between him and Li Sipei. But she didn’t seem to care about Li Sipei’s words at all—she was only waiting for Mi Zhao’s response.

The surrounding bystanders also seemed to catch on to the woman’s implication and began whispering in their respective languages.

Mi Zhao had never encountered such a situation before. He panicked so much that he momentarily forgot how to speak English. Forcing himself to calm down, he took a few seconds to organize his words before stammering out an explanation: he and Li Sipei were a couple, visiting from China.

Upon hearing this, the woman’s stern expression turned into one of doubt. She glanced at Mi Zhao’s legs and asked if he was injured.

“…” Mi Zhao regretted ever playfully pestering Li Sipei to carry him. He had thought that in a foreign place, even if they made a fool of themselves, no one would know them. Who would’ve thought they’d attract hotel staff?

At this point, it wouldn’t be appropriate for Li Sipei to step in, so Mi Zhao had to continue explaining that he wasn’t injured, his legs were perfectly fine, and that being carried was just a playful interaction between him and his boyfriend.

By the end, Mi Zhao’s face was completely red.

The woman carefully observed his expression, and her stance finally softened. However, she still didn’t let it go entirely and politely asked both of them to accompany her to the front desk to verify their check-in records.

Since Mi Zhao had used both his and Li Sipei’s passports and IDs to register, their personal details were on file.

The receptionist quickly retrieved their information—

Mi Zhao, 20 years old. Li Sipei, 33 years old.

Both were adults, with an entirely reasonable age gap for a couple.

The woman became extremely embarrassed. She was no longer as aggressive as before, instead apologizing repeatedly and explaining that she had only acted out of concern because Mi Zhao looked resistant, making her fear he was being coerced. She also admitted that Mi Zhao really did look like a minor.

Understanding that she had good intentions, Mi Zhao said it was fine and hurriedly pulled Li Sipei away.

Outside the lobby, he angrily shook off Li Sipei’s hand. “I told you to put me down earlier, but you wouldn’t listen. Now we’ve lost all face!”

Li Sipei, however, remained unbothered. He stepped closer, reaching out to pinch Mi Zhao’s chin.

Still fuming, Mi Zhao assumed Li Sipei was about to comfort him—only for the fingers on his chin to tighten slightly, forcing him to tilt his head up and meet Li Sipei’s gaze.

Li Sipei’s eyes roamed over his face before he muttered, “You really do look underage.”

“…” Mi Zhao’s expression instantly dropped. He smacked away Li Sipei’s hand and snapped, “Why didn’t you say that when you were sleeping with me?”

“I only think that now.”

Mi Zhao refused to deal with him any longer and stormed off toward the pool.

Standing in place, Li Sipei turned his head to watch him walk through the brightly lit night.

Mi Zhao’s outfit was one he had helped pick out and put on—perfectly suited for the tropical climate: lively, sunny, and vibrant, just like a little sun himself. His shorts stopped just above his knees, revealing his long, slender legs. His black hair was tousled by the night breeze.

“Hey.” Mi Zhao turned slightly, lifting his brows and deliberately putting on an impatient expression. “Why are you just standing there? Are we going swimming or not?”

Li Sipei didn’t respond for a long time.

Tonight, Mi Zhao’s style was completely different from usual—like a sudden gust of wind stirring something deep in his heart.

The feeling was indescribable.

His heartbeat quickened, and the wind in his ears became a soft hum.

He had seen boys dressed like this before, but only when this style appeared on Mi Zhao did it create such an inexplicable reaction in him.

“Li Sipei!” Mi Zhao cupped his hands around his mouth and called out.

Li Sipei snapped out of it and curved his lips into a smile. “Coming.”

With that, he quickly walked over.

Mi Zhao stood with his hands in his pockets, striking a cool pose. When Li Sipei got close, he grumbled, “Were you standing there as a doorman?”

Li Sipei switched the bag to his other hand and reached out to hold Mi Zhao’s hand.

Mi Zhao gave it a shake, but Li Sipei didn’t let go. He huffed lightly, then reluctantly let himself be led.

Li Sipei glanced at him sideways. “I was thinking.”

“Thinking about what? You were completely lost in thought.”

“I was thinking,” Li Sipei’s voice was soft and slow, yet each word was pronounced clearly and seriously, “that if I were ten years younger, it would be perfect. We’d be the same age, meet in college, study together, graduate together, work together, and step into the next stage of life together.”

Mi Zhao stared at him in stunned silence.

Li Sipei tightened his grip and smiled. “I think I like you even more than I realized.”

Mi Zhao’s mouth hung open slightly. After a long pause, he tightened his fingers around Li Sipei’s hand and asked, “Do you know what I’m thinking about right now?”

“What?”

Mi Zhao sighed in regret and frustration. “I should’ve just stayed in the room instead of coming out to swim.” After all, if it was just exercise, they could’ve done it in bed until dawn!

“…”

—

In the end, Mi Zhao got his wish: he and Li Sipei stayed in the room until dawn.

However, the consequence of overexerting themselves was that they slept until the evening the next day—there was no need to adjust to the time difference anymore.

Mi Zhao woke up feeling extremely thirsty. He got up, went to the living room to pour himself a glass of water, and, while at it, poured another glass for Li Sipei, placing it on the bedside table. Picking up his phone from the nightstand, he glanced at the screen—no calls or texts, just a dozen or so WeChat messages.

After replying to the earlier messages, his finger suddenly stopped scrolling as his gaze landed on a newly added contact’s profile picture.

That person, “Yu,” had also sent him a message.

He tapped into the chat.

[Yu: Are you Mi Zhao?]

Sitting on the edge of the bed, still feeling thirsty, Mi Zhao picked up the glass of water he had poured for Li Sipei and began typing.

[mrz: Mm.]

[mrz: Who are you?]

[mrz: How did you get my number and add me?]

[mrz: If you don’t answer, I’m deleting you.]

It was still noon in City A, so “Yu” should see his response soon. If they avoided the question, he would just delete them immediately.

Because he managed an account on Weibo, many people knew some basic information about him and would send him random friend requests and messages. He couldn’t easily change his WeChat or phone number, so he had to be diligent in clearing out unwanted contacts.

Mi Zhao exited WeChat, took another sip of water, and was about to put his phone back on the nightstand when the screen suddenly lit up with a new message.

He opened WeChat and was surprised to see a reply from “Yu.” The chat showed two new messages—the second one was a smiling emoji.

Mi Zhao: “…”

It had been a long time since someone had sent him that passive-aggressive emoji.

He tapped in to check the first message.

[Yu: Hello, I’m Li Sipei’s mother, Pei Yu.]

Mid-drink, Mi Zhao froze. His hand trembled violently, and in the next second—pfft—he spat out all the water in his mouth.

“Li Sipei!”

Before Li Sipei could even open his eyes, a heavy weight pounced on him, thrashing wildly and shaking his shoulders with all its might.

“This is bad! This is really bad!” Mi Zhao looked absolutely horrified, as if the sky were falling. His eyes were wide open, and he was panting heavily. “Disaster! Disaster! Disaster!”

After a few failed attempts to sit up, Li Sipei resigned himself to lying down and reached out to soothe him, patting his head. “What happened?”

“A huge disaster!”

Mi Zhao scrambled off of him, clutching his head in despair. In his panic, he started rambling nonsense, repeating himself over and over.

“What disaster?” Li Sipei sat up against the headboard, took Mi Zhao’s hand, and intertwined their fingers. “It’s okay. Take your time.”

Under Li Sipei’s calm reassurance, Mi Zhao gradually settled down.

When they first met, Li Sipei—like everyone else—was fooled by Mi Zhao’s composed exterior, thinking he was someone who remained level-headed in any situation. It was only later that he realized Mi Zhao had intense emotional fluctuations. When alone, he would suppress everything, but if there was someone beside him, he would unconsciously express his emotions.

Holding his hand, Li Sipei gently rubbed the back of it with his thumb.

This side of Mi Zhao was quite adorable.

In fact, he enjoyed being relied upon by him.

Unaware of what was going through Li Sipei’s mind, Mi Zhao, still pale, shoved his phone in front of him. “Is this your mom’s WeChat?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Li Sipei focused on the screen. After a brief glance, he nodded. “Yeah, it’s her.”

“…” Mi Zhao’s body went limp, and he collapsed onto the bed. “Look at what I said before.”

Li Sipei took the phone and scrolled through the chat.

Mi Zhao flipped over and, in despair, explained, “I didn’t know she was your mom. I thought it was some scam trying to trick me… I was so rude. Do you think she’ll be mad?”

Even though it was phrased as a question, Mi Zhao already knew the answer.

He was such an idiot.

How did he not realize that “Yu” was “Pei Yu”?!

Frustrated, he tugged at his hair.

Halfway through, his wrist was caught. The chat history was short, so Li Sipei quickly read through it.

His expression remained neutral, as if he didn’t take the matter seriously. Instead, he even comforted him in a calm tone, “It’s fine if she’s mad. You won’t have many chances to meet her anyway. And even if you do, I won’t let her use this against you.”

“…” Mi Zhao puffed out his cheeks. “What kind of way is that to comfort someone?!”

Amused, Li Sipei poked his cheek. “She just sent another message.”

Mi Zhao stiffened, then immediately sat up, body tense. “What did she say?”

Li Sipei glanced at his phone. “She’s asking if you’re available for a call right now.”