Chapter 51: Pei He: You’re Just a Stubborn Donkey

Zhou Zhuoyuan opened Steady Sound and discovered he’d received quite a few new messages. At Pei He’s urging, he’d uploaded that atmospheric video from their last shoot, and it had gone mildly viral, netting his account over six hundred new followers.

A bunch of the messages asked why he only had one video up and urged him to post more. Some private messages were even blunter: “You a virgin?” “Got a girlfriend?” “Down for guys?”

Zhou Zhuoyuan glanced back at He Qinglan. “Can I film a video of you and post it on my Steady Sound?”

His boyfriend was a total heartthrob too. If all he wanted was to shut down the thirsty commenters and reassure He Qinglan, he could’ve just dropped a quick clip announcing he wasn’t single. But Zhou Zhuoyuan’s vanity was acting up—if people knew he had a boyfriend this handsome, they’d be green with envy. Total bragging rights.

He Qinglan went rigid for a moment before replying, “Little Yuan, I don’t want my face out there on the internet. You know how some creeps use other people’s videos and photos for AI face-swaps. If you’ve got any of yours posted, you should delete or hide them.”

“Got it, hiding it now.” Zhou Zhuoyuan was aware of deepfakes and didn’t sweat it much—the ones who deserved punishment were the creeps making them, not him. Still, now that he had a boyfriend, he had to think about whether it might spark jealousy or misunderstandings.

He gazed fondly at his video, which was closing in on 6,666 likes, then hid it.

Fresh private messages popped up right away, asking where the video went and begging him not to quit the platform.

So Zhou Zhuoyuan filmed a quick scenery clip instead. His caption read: “Boyfriend’s jealous. No more videos of me from now on. Sorry, folks—go simp for some other hunks.”

After posting, he stood up and stretched lazily. When he checked his phone again, a few WeChat notifications had come in.

Pei He: Why aren’t you replying to my Steady Sound messages?

Pei He: You guys on XX Mountain? Heading up or down?

Pei He: I’m on XX Mountain too. At the summit.

Zhou Zhuoyuan cut in mid-typing: What a coincidence. We’re on our way up.

Pei He hammered back fast: I’m waiting at the top. Hurry and you can still catch the sunset.

Zhou Zhuoyuan agreed, then turned back with a grin to share the news with He Qinglan.

Bumping into his roommate like this during their trip felt like a fun stroke of luck. Sure, he always claimed to prefer going solo, but deep down he thrived on the buzz of company.

He Qinglan looked a bit puzzled. “He didn’t mention it to me, and I never told him.”

Zhou Zhuoyuan explained, “He must’ve scrolled past my video and spotted it.”

Once they’d rested up, they pressed on toward the summit to meet their unexpected third wheel.

It was a weekday, so the peak wasn’t too crowded. They immediately spotted Pei He standing off to the side, peering down over the edge.

Zhou Zhuoyuan’s heart leaped into his throat. He didn’t dare approach, but He Qinglan strolled right up to the edge like it was nothing and gazed down. “Something interesting down there?”

Pei He said, “…I’m looking for you guys.”

The two of them stepped back to Zhou Zhuoyuan’s side.

He Qinglan noticed his tension. “What’s wrong?”

Zhou Zhuoyuan wiped at nonexistent sweat on his forehead. “Don’t get so close to the edge, you two. It’s dangerous. I heard looking down from heights like this can make people want to jump.”

He Qinglan’s heart softened. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to worry you.”

Pei He zeroed in on the Worry-Free Jade hanging around Zhou Zhuoyuan’s neck. He asked in shock, “You gave him that one too? And he’s wearing it out in the open?”

“Yep.” Not satisfied with the shock value, He Qinglan rolled up his sleeve to flash the Buddhist prayer beads on his wrist. “Little Yuan gave these to me too. They’re super precious.”

Pei He stood there alone, feeling like he was staring down a massive tree, utterly dejected. Fortunately, he was tougher than that and didn’t seriously consider leaping off the mountain.

He Qinglan just figured the poor single guy had taken one too many hits.

Zhou Zhuoyuan snuck him a message: I’m not trying to rub it in on purpose. Don’t get too down, but I’m not giving up Qinglan.

Pei He: Wow, you’re a real pro at cheering people up. Skip it next time.

The sun was still a ways off from setting, and with some folks at the summit getting bored, a group wandered over to ask if they wanted to join in hunting for four-leaf clovers.

Zhou Zhuoyuan said, “I think I’ll tag along.”

He didn’t speak for the other two—He Qinglan was staring oddly at his phone, lost in thought, and Pei He was still nursing his heartbreak.

Half an hour later, a few startled cries rang out from the direction where Zhou Zhuoyuan had gone, followed by a sudden clamor.

Pei He shot to his feet and bolted straight toward the noise.

He Qinglan jolted awake as well and hurried after Pei He. He knew Zhou Zhuoyuan had gone off in search of that four-leaf clover, but his mind had been preoccupied earlier, and he’d assumed that with so many people around, nothing could go wrong. Now this commotion had his heart racing in panic.

When they reached the spot, they found several people peering down the slope. The hillside was thick with trees and tall, withered weeds, and faint bloodstains were visible here and there amid the overgrowth.

The group looked young—like middle schoolers. It was these kids, along with a young couple, who had called Zhou Zhuoyuan over earlier.

He Qinglan’s heartbeat quickened, his mind going blank as his feet carried him toward the slope against his will.

Pei He got there first, sliding to the nearest tree and then skidding past two more: “Zhou Zhuoyuan! Can you hear me?! Zhou Zhuoyuan!”

The shouts snapped He Qinglan out of his daze. He followed Pei He’s example and slid down. Luckily, as soon as they reached that point, Zhou Zhuoyuan called back loudly: “I’m down here! Someone’s hurt. Sister Xiaoyu and I came to help, but he’s out cold and too heavy for us to lift.”

He Qinglan’s breathing finally steadied. Together with Pei He, he helped haul the slightly plump man back up.

Once they were back at the mountaintop, He Qinglan carefully wiped the mud from Zhou Zhuoyuan’s clothes with his handkerchief. Seeing no serious injuries, the knot in his chest finally loosened. “You scared me half to death…”

“I was just about to call you.” Zhou Zhuoyuan fished the lunchbox out of his pocket. “Stashed it away before I went down. Good call not keeping it on me.”

In that moment, all He Qinglan felt was a wave of lingering fear. “I should’ve gone with you. I’m sorry, Little Yuan.”

Pei He’s steady voice cut through their tender exchange and mutual recriminations. “You remembered the Worry-Free Jade, but forgot about your own physical limits?”

Pei He hadn’t said anything so cutting to Zhou Zhuoyuan since that basketball game. Zhou Zhuoyuan was momentarily at a loss. “How could I forget? Snakes hibernate in winter—I knew that. I checked things out from up top before going down. And everything turned out fine, didn’t it?”

Pei He’s dark eyes bored into him. “What could you even see? I couldn’t spot you from up here. Can you swear you were certain you could climb back out on your own?”

Zhou Zhuoyuan’s chest heaved with rising anger. “No, I couldn’t swear to that. But the kids up top could’ve gone for help.”

Pei He kept his expression neutral, but anger crept into his voice. “Others could wait for rescue. But you—wet and freezing down there—what if you spiked a fever? What if your stomach flared up? What if low blood sugar knocked you out?!”

Zhou Zhuoyuan couldn’t understand why Pei He was snapping at him now, at this happy ending beneath the gorgeous sunset. “I had to check on the injured guy. I was doing the right thing—saving a life! The outcome proves I was right. No one got hurt, not me, not anyone!” His rebirth let him help people; it was a good thing. In just those few minutes, he’d earned Sister Xiaoyu’s and the kids’ trust.

Pei He drew a deep breath. “You’re one stubborn ass.”

Zhou Zhuoyuan couldn’t believe he’d hurl such an insult. His eyes reddened. “Yeah! Stubborn as hell! A total ass! My life doesn’t matter as much as others’! If I die, I die! Why bother saving some dumb ass from down there?!”

Pei He turned his head, avoiding those eyes. Zhou Zhuoyuan was full of sneaky traps; he wouldn’t fall for it this time. “Don’t put words in my mouth that I never said! When did I ever say your life doesn’t matter? I’m yelling at you right now precisely because it does matter to me!”

The words hit home, silencing Zhou Zhuoyuan. Eyes still rimmed red, he gazed at Pei He’s profile. He was starting to realize his actions hadn’t been foolproof. If he kept arguing, he’d just come off as petty and unreasonable.

He Qinglan looked away from Pei He’s face and pulled his easily riled boyfriend into a hug. “Your life means the world to me.”

He paused, then delivered the old cliché: “More than my own.”

Swaths of orange sunset flooded Zhou Zhuoyuan’s vision. Slowly, he raised his arms and hugged He Qinglan back, the half-sunken sun bearing witness. “I’m sorry.”

Sorry for treating the Zhou Zhuoyuan who’s so precious to you both like he wasn’t.

~~~

The descent grew chilly, but Zhou Zhuoyuan was prepared. He pulled a jacket from his backpack and bundled up tight.

He hadn’t been hurt badly, but he’d lost one glove, and his hand bore several scratches. Now he wore He Qinglan’s glove. Same style as his own, yet it felt warmer.

Love really is something that makes people lose their heads.

Pei He couldn’t stand their cloying sweetness any longer. The moment they reached the foot of the mountain, he parted ways with them. He Qinglan took Zhou Zhuoyuan’s hand and waited for the Zhou family driver to arrive.