The origin of this drama went back to three months ago, on the day Yan Cai got drunk.
At the time, the two had only met once—just a doctor-patient interaction. But Bai Qingzhou had accidentally called Nie Xingchao. And out of professional kindness, Nie Xingchao had taken the semi-drunk Yan Cai home…
Why say he was semi-drunk and not fully drunk?
Because if you said he wasn’t drunk, he couldn’t even say where his home was—he could only ask Nie Xingchao to take him to his place. But if you said he was drunk, he wasn’t that far gone either—he still had a sliver of awareness left.
So on the way, while Nie Xingchao was driving, Yan Cai kept mumbling in a dazed state—one moment complimenting how handsome Nie Xingchao looked, the next gushing about how attractive he looked in a white coat.
He actually had quite the sweet mouth.
Nie Xingchao was amused. While waiting at a red light, he flicked Yan Cai lightly on the forehead and said, “Hey kid, don’t move around.”
Apparently the flick hurt, because Yan Cai covered his head and glared at him, flipping moods instantly.
“Why are you touching me?”
“Are you up to something shady?”
“You old perv!”
“Freak!”
Yan Cai looked very serious, while Nie Xingchao was completely innocent and speechless. “I’m not—I didn’t—I didn’t do anything!”
Yan Cai didn’t believe him at all and started flailing, demanding to get out of the car. But Nie Xingchao couldn’t just dump him on the side of the road, so he pinched the bridge of his nose and asked, “What’ll it take for you to believe me?”
Yan Cai’s eyes spun with mischief. “Unless… you drink with me!”
“…”
“Otherwise I’ll scream for help!”
Nie Xingchao had no choice. He got out and bought a whole case of beer.
So the two of them bickered their way to Nie Xingchao’s home.
Once inside, Yan Cai unceremoniously plopped down on the couch, chugged several large gulps of beer, and began pouring out his sorrows to Nie Xingchao—rambling incoherently about Xia Xinghe and Bai Qingzhou.
Afraid Nie Xingchao wouldn’t understand, he deliberately didn’t mention names and referred to them only as my friend. While talking, he insisted on clinking bottles and drinking together.
Nie Xingchao was a lightweight. He tried to stop him at first but eventually got drunk too. The two of them, both grown men with some sense of propriety, didn’t do anything scandalous while drunk—at most, they cried into each other’s shoulders and cursed the “scumbag” all night long.
Oddly enough, a kind of “revolutionary friendship” was born from the ordeal.
Later, when Bai Qingzhou came to ask Nie Xingchao for help, the two found a common cause.
Nie Xingchao vented Yan Cai’s anger by cursing the “scumbag” for him, while Yan Cai acted as a secret advisor behind the scenes—giving Nie Xingchao ideas. In fact, the whole plan for Bai Qingzhou to invite Xia Xinghe on a trip was originally Yan Cai’s idea.
Nie Xingchao had briefly suspected something—the situations on both sides were strangely similar—but then thought, Come on, what are the odds? and let it go.
Then, just a few days ago, Nie Xingchao said his friend finally managed to invite his crush out, while Yan Cai said his friend hit a major crisis. They joked about whether they’d run into each other on the road.
And wouldn’t you know it—not only did they run into each other, but they were traveling together.
…The world really does have this kind of coincidence.
When Yan Cai saw Nie Xingchao and Bai Qingzhou standing together, he instantly understood what was going on: he’d been treating the enemy as a teammate this whole time—and even helping him come up with strategies!
Outrageous!
Yan Cai dragged Nie Xingchao aside, fuming. “Did you know all along?” he demanded. “Were you just trying to trick me into spilling information?”
With righteous anger, Nie Xingchao put on his most innocent face. “I really didn’t know you were friends with Xia Xinghe.”
“Besides, the stuff you came up with wasn’t even that helpful!”
They started arguing back and forth, sentence after sentence, while Xia Xinghe stood nearby completely confused. He could tell there was some tension, but he still had no idea what was going on between them.
“Wait—you guys…”
Xia Xinghe opened his mouth to ask, but Yan Cai furrowed his brow and immediately snapped back to awareness.
No way can Xia Xinghe find out Bai Qingzhou is trying to pursue him. With his personality, he’d probably fall again the moment he finds out!
Alarm bells rang in Yan Cai’s mind. He quickly pulled Xia Xinghe aside and asked, “Do we have to go with that Nie guy?”
“Well, we’re already here… can’t really back out halfway, can we?”
Xia Xinghe hesitated and pressed his lips together, then asked, “Is there something going on between you two? You can tell me—maybe I can…”
“No, no need.”
Yan Cai shook his head frantically and pulled Xia Xinghe even farther from Nie Xingchao, watching him closely in case he blurted something out.
He said, “There’s nothing between me and him—just don’t talk to him too much.”
Xia Xinghe was totally baffled.
…..
Since it was too late to back out, Yan Cai could only pin his last hopes on Nie Xingchao.
“You—come here.”
He tugged on Nie Xingchao’s sleeve and pulled him aside.
The airport was bustling with people, loud and crowded. With constant broadcasts echoing overhead, Yan Cai dragged Nie Xingchao about ten meters away from Xia Xinghe, lowered his voice, and hissed in his ear through gritted teeth:
“I’m warning you—do not tell him Bai Qingzhou is trying to pursue him!”
“Huh? Why not?”
Honestly, Nie Xingchao hadn’t even planned to say anything. Knowing Bai Qingzhou, he would never allow it. But Yan Cai’s little claws and growling threats piqued his interest. He suddenly found this kid kind of amusing.
He smiled and teased him on purpose: “Why can’t I?”
As expected, Yan Cai exploded, glaring straight at him. “I said you can’t, so you can’t!”
“Tch, temper on you.”
Nie Xingchao laughed at his over-the-top reactions and kept teasing, “But the mouth is on me. I can say whatever I want—don’t you think?”
“You—!”
Yan Cai was so mad he couldn’t speak, and after sulking silently for a while, he finally asked in a sullen voice:
“Then… what do you want?”
Nie Xingchao feigned innocence. “What do you mean what do I want?”
Yan Cai swallowed his pride and asked through gritted teeth:
“What do you want so you won’t say anything?”
“Let me think…”
Nie Xingchao deliberately dragged out his words in an exaggerated, mysterious tone. After a moment, he curved his lips and said, “Depends on how you perform.”
“You f*cking—!”
Yan Cai was about to explode with anger. He looked at Xia Xinghe behind him, still wearing a clueless expression, then took a deep breath to suppress his emotions and asked, “How do I perform?”
“I’m thirsty. Buy me a bottle of water.”
Nie Xingchao replied.
Yan Cai obediently went to the nearby convenience store and bought a fancy bottle of mineral water that cost ten yuan.
“I’m craving cookies now.”
Yan Cai still complied.
“I can’t open the bottle cap.”
“My fingers don’t feel like moving. How about you feed me?”
Yan Cai’s hand trembled and he nearly splashed the water onto Nie Xingchao’s face.
But if he was the type to obey so willingly, he wouldn’t be Yan Cai. He purposely tilted the glass, trying to spill water on Nie Xingchao. Unfortunately, Nie Xingchao saw right through him and reached out, his warm hand grasping Yan Cai’s wrist.
“Don’t mess around, kid.”
Nie Xingchao’s tone carried a teasing smile—deep and raspy, brushing his ear like a tickle. It made Yan Cai feel strangely self-conscious.
When Nie Xingchao said “don’t mess around,” he also didn’t let go of Yan Cai’s wrist.
“Let go of me!”
“No.”
“Let me go!”
“What if you try to splash me again?”
“…”
Yan Cai struggled twice but couldn’t break free. He muttered a few curses under his breath and awkwardly averted his gaze. After a long while, he finally pulled his hand back with some difficulty.
The two returned to their original seats in silence. Yan Cai moved awkwardly, and Xia Xinghe noticed the blush spreading on his face. He blinked and smiled.
“What is it?”
Bai Qingzhou, beside him, asked.
“Nothing,”
Xia Xinghe shook his head, the corners of his lips still curved in amusement. “Just thought those two actually get along pretty well.”
…..
The rest of the trip went smoothly. They didn’t book a group tour, so after getting off the high-speed train, they took their time strolling around the area and had a hotpot meal before finally calling a cab to head to the hotel.
Four people, two rooms. Logically, there were three possible combinations, any of which could work. But Yan Cai didn’t want to share a room with Nie Xingchao and wasn’t comfortable letting Xia Xinghe room with Bai Qingzhou either. So, the moment the front desk handed out the room cards, he quickly turned to Xia Xinghe with an invitation.
“Xia, let’s share a room!”
Yan Cai and Nie Xingchao weren’t that close, and their relationship was awkward. Xia Xinghe wasn’t entirely at ease either, so the room arrangement was settled like that.
Once the room cards were handed out, Nie Xingchao looked at Bai Qingzhou with a teasing half-smile, while Bai Qingzhou frowned and entered the elevator with a cold face.
This trip was meant to be a mountain-climbing journey, and the highlight was, of course, the mountain hike. To watch the sunrise, they needed to camp on the mountain overnight. So, after sorting out their luggage, the four of them packed up tents and began hiking up the mountain.
The mountain path was difficult. Xia Xinghe walked slowly, and at one point, when he nearly lost his footing, Bai Qingzhou reached out to steady him. From that point on, he never let go of his hand.
The warmth of Bai Qingzhou’s palm passed through their skin, and Xia Xinghe blushed slightly.
Yan Cai saw this and grew anxious. He thought: Bai Qingzhou clearly has an ulterior motive—he invited Xia Xinghe just to get close to him again.
Yan Cai still remembered everything from before. He didn’t want Xia Xinghe to be so easily swayed by a bit of gentleness. So he frowned and came up with an idea.
A few steps ahead, he stepped on a rock, twisted his ankle on purpose, and squatted down.
“Ahhh f*ck! That hurts!”
As expected, the moment he made a sound, Xia Xinghe immediately let go of Bai Qingzhou’s hand and ran over.
“Yan-ge, are you okay?”
Yan Cai winced dramatically. “I think I twisted my ankle.”
Xia Xinghe frowned. “What should we do? Does it hurt a lot? Should we—”
“No, no,” Yan Cai waved his hand and delivered his pre-planned line, “We finally came all this way—how disappointing would it be to turn back? And there’s still plenty of time. Why don’t you guys go ahead while we take our time coming up?”
Xia Xinghe still looked hesitant. “Are you really okay? Are you sure it won’t be too much?”
“Of course I’m okay! We have all night—no need to rush,” Yan Cai nodded and then urged the two others, “You guys go ahead. We’re slow, no need to wait.”
Yan Cai felt proud of his clever plan—he had successfully separated Xia Xinghe from Bai Qingzhou without leaving any evidence. But he hadn’t even had time to enjoy the moment when Nie Xingchao suddenly walked up to him with large strides.
“Let me take a look,” Nie Xingchao said. “I’m a doctor.”
Yan Cai hurried to decline, but Nie Xingchao had already placed his hand on his ankle.
“Does it hurt here?”
“How about here?”
At this point, Yan Cai decided to go all in and lied through his teeth—he said it hurt everywhere.
After a moment, Nie Xingchao stood up and said, “Yeah, you twisted it.”
Yan Cai breathed a small sigh of relief—only to hear Nie Xingchao continue, “Let me help you up.”
Yan Cai: “.”
He repeatedly refused, but Nie Xingchao ignored him. Turning to Xia Xinghe, he said, “You guys go on ahead. I’ll help him up.”
Xia Xinghe frowned. “Is it serious? Should we just go slowly together?”
Seeing things take a wrong turn, Yan Cai quickly chimed in, “Or we could all go together—more hands to help…”
“No need,” Nie Xingchao cut him off again. Without waiting for consent, he “snatched” Yan Cai from Xia Xinghe’s side. “We’ll split up. You two go set up the tents first. I’m a doctor—it’s easier for me to take care of him. It’s pointless for you to stay. Better to get the tent ready so we can rest when we arrive.”
Nie Xingchao’s tone was calm and his logic flawless. He quickly persuaded Xia Xinghe, who left with Bai Qingzhou and headed up the mountain.
Left behind, Yan Cai looked at Nie Xingchao beside him, wearing a smug, half-smiling expression—and felt like crying but had no tears.
Why was the plot going in a completely different direction from what he imagined?!