The hot spring resort Xi Zhengqing mentioned was in the Northern part of District One, surrounded by mountains. Terraced tea gardens blanketed the slopes, and the resort sat on a flat plateau at the very top.
Because it had rained before sunrise, the mountains and forests were lush and dripping with green. White mist, formed from evaporated rainwater, lingered like clouds. As the convertible followed the highway upward, a cool breeze brushed against their faces, and the mist felt close enough to touch.
It was indeed a good place to relax both body and mind.
Xin Hexue leaned on the edge, gazing at the scenery outside the car. He asked Xi Zhengqing, “Are the friends we’re having a meal with today your childhood friends?”
“Yeah, Pei Guangji probably mentioned it to you. We grew up together…me, Zuo Yongyan, Pei Guangji… and Qiu Yuan.” Xi Zhengqing rested one hand on the steering wheel while his other hand fiddled with a button on the console. “Do you want to listen to the radio? Though we’re almost there.”
He must’ve landed on some random station, because the radio blared a chaotic gossip segment, and the host’s tone was excited: “A tangled love triangle? The ‘Plastic Tycoon’s’ eldest son, Young Master Xi’er, was caught on a late-night date with a mysterious movie star? An unknown Omega seen entering and exiting Xi’er’s private club multiple times…are we looking at a lovers’ meeting? Who’s the third wheel?”
Xi Zhengqing frowned and switched to another channel, and soothing music filled the car.
He explained to Xin Hexue, “Some radio stations just broadcast the latest gossip from tabloids. Those kinds of media love making up stories.”
Outside the Core Zone, gossip tabloids like these were quite popular. There was always a dedicated group of readers eager for updates on emotional entanglements, inheritance battles, and personal grudges of wealthy families.
Xin Hexue nodded without saying anything and continued to look out the window. Just when Xi Zhengqing thought he wouldn’t speak again, Xin Hexue suddenly asked, “Has Guangji been busy lately? He hasn’t replied to my messages in a long time. He hasn’t come back to the villa either.”
Xi Zhengqing glanced at him, then turned his eyes back to the mountain road. “Yeah, he’s quite focused on his career. Plus, the Pei Group is currently launching a batch of new genetic modification products, so when he’s busy, he tends to neglect family and friends. But isn’t it a good thing that he hasn’t been contacting you much? Because of that contract, whenever he shows up, you basically have to be mindful of his feelings all the time, right? As a friend, it’d be even harder for me to get a chance to see you and talk with you…”
Xi Zhengqing kept an eye on Xin Hexue from the corner of his eye. Seeing the young man leaning against the seat with his eyelashes lowered, he realized Xin Hexue might still have feelings for Pei Guangji. So he changed his tone and added, “Sorry, I was just speaking offhand. If that made you uncomfortable, I won’t bring it up again. For today, you can put all that aside. I wanted to take you out and hopefully cheer you up a bit.”
Xi Zhengqing continued, “Aside from the hot springs, the resort also has an archery club. Do you want to give it a try later? There’s still time before lunch. Zuo Yongyan and the others probably won’t arrive here that soon.”
Xin Hexue gave a slight nod. “Okay.”
…
Unlike the surrounding steep green peaks, the mountaintop was flat. The resort was well-developed, and looked more like a high-end, private club. It had restaurants, bars, outdoor terraces, a spa center, an outdoor pool, a theater room, and a wide array of indoor and outdoor recreation zones.
There weren’t many guests, and the resort was very quiet.
The archery range was on a lawn outside.
Since Xin Hexue was a beginner, the coach gave him a 20-pound bow and had him start at the ten-meter lane.
Xi Zhengqing helped him put on gloves and protective gear, then stepped back to give him space.
He could tell that Xin Hexue seemed a bit at a loss when dealing with strangers. This was probably the social anxiety brought on by face blindness. When the coach and assistant approached, Xin Hexue’s eyes turned around anxiously and his gaze eventually settled on Xi Zhengqing’s face.
Xi Zhengqing saw the vague expression of dependence in the young man’s eyes and felt his heart speed up again. He enjoyed the young man’s gaze so much that his heartbeat accelerated again. He stepped forward and politely declined the coach and assistant’s help. Then he said to Xin Hexue, “Do you trust me? I can teach you too. In the Xi family, heirs are trained in archery and horseback riding from a young age. I promise I won’t let you get hurt.”
Xin Hexue nodded.
[Xi Zhengqing love value +1]
As Xi Zhengqing explained the key points and demonstrated the movements, Xin Hexue appeared to listen seriously, but in fact, he casually asked K, [What’s his love value now?]
K replied: [Seventy-six.]
It was steadily increasing.
Lately, Xi Zhengqing had been pretending to be a gentleman so much he probably almost believed it himself. At the moment, while correcting Xin Hexue’s archery posture, his hands remained properly disciplined.
Xin Hexue quietly observed how long he could keep up the act.
“Both feet should line up with the bullseye. Now, draw the bow.” Once Xin Hexue pulled the bowstring back, Xi Zhengqing adjusted his elbow angle. “Keep your elbow perpendicular to the ground, or the string might snap against your arm.”
“Even if the arrow points straight at the target, it might not hit. Usually you have to aim a little lower. Keep practicing and you’ll get a feel for it.”
Xin Hexue nodded, and Xi Zhengqing stepped back. “Good, hold that pose and give it a try.”
As Xi Zhengqing withdrew his hand, he unconsciously rubbed his fingertips, as though the delicate feel of Xin Hexue’s skin still lingered there…along with that subtle, cool fragrance beneath the young man’s flesh.
Everything made his heart flutter violently.
Archery was a sport that required extreme calmness. Everything outside the person, the bow, and the target was considered a distraction. Attempting the sport in his current, wildly beating heart state was extremely unsuitable.
Fortunately, all Xi Zhengqing needed to do now was act the understanding friend, slowly boiling the frog in warm water to get closer to Xin Hexue.
Xin Hexue stood upright, and the posture of drawing the bow and shooting made his back muscles exert force, showing a beautiful and fluid bone contour.
His right hand released the string.
The wind howled.
The arrow pierced the edge of the target paper.
Xi Zhengqing encouraged him, “Your form was correct, nothing was wrong with it. Try a few more times and get used to the feel. The first time I tried it, my arrow flew into someone else’s target and my mother scolded me for it.”
Xin Hexue pursed his lips and smiled slightly. “I thought Young Master Xi would’ve been a genius from the start.”
Xi Zhengqing was stunned.
For some reason, he found the title coming from the young man’s lips particularly affectionate.
Xin Hexue’s voice was always calm and soft. Xi Zhengqing had never seen him angry. When he spoke, there was always a faint, gentle smile on his face.
Only in moments of passion did his voice become fragmented and broken due to disordered breathing, as if it couldn’t bear the weight of emotion. It was as if it got caught in his throat, spilling out in a low, uneven rhythm.
Xi Zhengqing had heard that voice many times, while acting as Pei Guangji; in the study of his childhood friend’s mountainside villa, in the kitchen, on the sofa… when he pinned Xin Hexue down, clasping his wrists above his head, and with only fervent kisses, made him let out hoarse, hurried little gasps, every low moan tinged with moist undertones.
A month ago, Xi Zhengqing’s interest in Xin Hexue was purely rooted in twisted desire. He wanted to press Xin Hexue against the one-way mirror, on the marble island in the middle of the kitchen, or even in front of a mirror, to possess him fiercely from behind or face-to-face, indulging in the pleasure of controlling the young man’s tears.
Now, Xi Zhengqing felt that his mindset had changed.
Rather than twisted games of desire, he hoped Xin Hexue and he could become lovers who understood each other’s hearts, so they could share more romantic interactions.
Xi Zhengqing longed to have a drink with Xin Hexue on the balcony in the early hours and stargaze with a telescope. He also longed to possess him passionately after getting slightly tipsy, to press him against the piano and unleash fierce variations on the piano keys.
The more emotion burned between love and lust, the more it felt like volcanic magma bursting from beneath the earth’s surface, unstoppable.
His Adam’s apple rolled with restraint. He asked Xin Hexue, “Do you want something to drink? The tea and juice here are quite good. The tea leaves are picked and processed from the plantation below the resort.”
Xin Hexue smiled at him. “I’m fine with anything.”
Xi Zhengqing: “Alright. You keep practicing. Wait here for me, I’ll be back soon.”
After he left, the archery range became even more desolate.
The gentle expression on Xin Hexue’s face faded back to coldness.
He raised his arm again and drew the bow, tensed his left arm, took aim and released the string with his right arm. The series of actions were smooth and continuous like flowing water.
With a sharp “whoosh”, the sound of breaking through the air pierced through spring.
The arrow shot forward with great speed and hit the bullseye!
It was not until this moment that Xin Hexue raised the corners of his lips and revealed a genuine smile, with a heroic look between his eyebrows.
Under the sunlight, his skin was blindingly white, like dazzling foam at the seaside.
[Qiu Yuan love value +2]
Xin Hexue lifted his eyelids and tilted his chin slightly, glancing toward the edge of the field.
There was a blond Alpha wearing sunglasses. Upon noticing Xin Hexue looking over and realizing he had been caught spying, he didn’t dodge at all. Instead, he revealed a dazzling grin.
Xin Hexue hadn’t expected Qiu Yuan to be here.
He didn’t know how long the other party had been watching, but Xin Hexue didn’t really care.
When he looked again, Qiu Yuan had already left.
Xin Hexue touched the bow and arrow.
He wasn’t bad at archery.
In his second life, the six gentlemanly arts were very important, especially for an emperor.
He might not have been able to shoot with perfect precision like a divine archer, but at important spring hunting events, when the beasts were released into the royal enclosure, the emperor needed to fire the first arrow in front of the watching officials.
Xin Hexue had always been competitive. When he was still the crown prince of a small planet kingdom, even when mecha training left him so exhausted that his face turned pale and cold sweat streamed down, he still gritted his teeth and persevered, never collapsing in front of his instructors.
In his second life, when he ascended the throne as emperor and was under the scrutiny of all the court officials, Xin Hexue couldn’t allow himself to miss a shot.
He hadn’t been familiar with cold weapons from the ancient civilization before, but fortunately, he had an uncle who was a military general.
Xin Hexue had decent talent. Aside from the objective physical limitations that kept him from drawing bows requiring over a hundred jin of strength, he could still hit prey with lighter soft bows.
He gently stroked the bow and arrow, the smile at his lips still lingering.
………
Xi Zhengqing didn’t return until after some time.
He said to Xin Hexue, “Do you want to soak in the hot springs? The hot springs in the private bathhouse area are surrounded by bamboo. The tea is already brewed.”
Xin Hexue: “Alright.”
There was a public open-air hot spring pool in the resort, and each guest room also had a private bath in the backyard.
The room was surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the floor-to-ceiling glass windows made it feel like there was no barrier between the person and the forest.
The private spring was encircled by a sea of bamboo, and bamboo fences blocked the outside view, ensuring privacy.
The bottom was paved with cobblestones, white mist filled the air, and there was a faint scent of sulfur in the air.
The bathrobe was taken off and hung on the bamboo rack by the edge of the hot spring.
Xin Hexue leaned against the pool wall. The muscles that had been tense from archery earlier now relaxed.
The steam dampened the ends of his hair; with black hair and snow-white skin, the entire person looked like finely nurtured top-grade white jade.
Xi Zhengqing sat across from him, his glasses fogged with a blurry layer of white mist.
Xin Hexue glanced at him.
He leaned forward curiously, “Can you even see like this?”
He raised his hand and gently wiped the foggy lenses of Xi Zhengqing’s glasses with his fingertips.
A dazzlingly beautiful face entered Xi Zhengqing’s view.
The clouds were cleared away to reveal the moon.
Behind the mist was a beauty even more capable of enchanting mortals than the mountain spirits.
Xin Hexue smiled at him lightly.
Xi Zhengqing felt his dazed reaction must look really stupid.
The jade-white hand, with delicate joints tinged with a faint pink, casually hooked onto Xi Zhengqing’s glasses frame, and with a slight tug, pulled them off.
Xin Hexue tilted his head slightly. “It’s probably better not to wear glasses in the hot spring, right?”
Xi Zhengqing: “…”
Xi Zhengqing felt a little regretful. He shouldn’t have booked just this room because they weren’t staying overnight and he still wanted to soak in the private bath with Xin Hexue.
In the past games of desire, whenever he was intimate with Xin Hexue, he always made a point not to wear glasses in order to disguise himself as Pei Guangji.
Now, he was like Pavlov’s dog.
The moment Xin Hexue removed his glasses, his little brother stood at attention instantly!
“Pavlov’s dog” refers to a famous experiment by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, which demonstrated classical conditioning.
In the experiment, Pavlov rang a bell before feeding his dog. After repeated times, the dog began to salivate just from hearing the bell, even if no food followed. So, “Pavlov’s dog” has come to symbolize someone who automatically reacts to a stimulus, due to repeated conditioning.
