—

Lucky — the Neck Ring survived its dip in the sea and still worked fine. Wen Ran took it off and rubbed his neck. Gu Yunchi hadn't brought a Wristband, so he'd basically have to wear the Neck Ring twenty-four hours a day. And then there were Gu Yunchi's cigarettes — what was he supposed to do without them? Wen Ran was a little worried.

He'd washed himself head to toe, teeth included, and finally felt human again. Wen Ran went back to the room. Aunt Liu had already laid out the mat and put down two pillows — in bright red wedding pillowcases. Wen Ran's vision went dark.

"Get some sleep, I'll call you for lunch later." Aunt Liu closed the door behind her on her way out.

A tiny room. A tiny window. A tiny bed. And Wen Ran, frozen like a wooden post.

After a long moment, he asked Gu Yunchi: "What do we do?"

"What do we do about what."

"We might have to share a bed. And it's really small."

"Think it's too small? Go sleep in the Courtyard with the dog."

That wasn't even the point. Wen Ran flared up, said nothing, walked to the bed, kicked off his slippers, climbed on, and sat on the wall side.

Gu Yunchi sat at the foot of the bed. His phone rang at the same time. He hit speaker. A low, wary voice came through: "Hello?"

"What is it." Gu Yunchi asked.

"Holy shit! Bro!" He Wei wailed. "You scared me to death! I thought my birthday was gonna turn into your death anniversary! My dad almost beat me half to death, you know that? If something had happened to you, I wouldn't have wanted to live either!"

He Wei sobbing on one end. Gu Yunchi ice-cold on the other: "Nothing else, I'm hanging up."

"Huh? Wait wait wait! Where are you right now, why aren't you back? What about Wen Ran?"

Gu Yunchi reported objectively: "In bed."

Dead silence. Then He Wei said, "Sorry to interrupt you guys." The words barely landed before he hung up.

Wen Ran sat against the wall hugging his knees like a trafficked teenager, completely lost. Gu Yunchi got up from the foot of the bed, bent one knee and half-knelt onto the mattress, reached over Wen Ran's head and pulled the curtain. Wen Ran looked up at Gu Yunchi's chin — then couldn't see anything anymore, because the short blue curtain dropped down and covered his eyes.

After a while of spacing out, Wen Ran poked his head out from under the curtain. The whole room had been tinted a pale blue. Gu Yunchi was already lying down with his eyes closed. The bed was way too cramped for his height — his legs had to stick out past the edge.

He couldn't help a yawn. Wen Ran blinked, then gently laid his head down on the pillow too.

He vaguely heard a knock — seemed like Aunt Liu calling them up for lunch. Wen Ran could barely open his eyes, rolled over to face the wall, but Gu Yunchi gripped his shoulder and rolled him back: "Get up and eat."

Wen Ran let out some muffled sounds, reached for Gu Yunchi's hand to pry it off, and before he could even budge it he was falling asleep again, loosely holding Gu Yunchi's wrist.

"I'm leaving." Gu Yunchi pulled his hand free coldly and said.

"...?!" Thinking Gu Yunchi was heading back to Capital City, Wen Ran's eyes flew open like a corpse rising from the dead.

Lying flat, he stared at Gu Yunchi for a beat. Then he realized he'd been played. Miserably, he dragged himself upright: "How are you this self-disciplined. You'd fit right in the military."

"The gap between humans and pigs was always pretty big." Gu Yunchi finished, got off the bed, and walked out of the room.

He opened the door into the living room. Aunt Liu was setting out bowls and chopsticks. A little omega with a thin braid was moving a chair — when she saw two strangers come out of the room, she ducked behind Aunt Liu and tugged at her sleeve.

"Be good, Qiuqiu. These are Brother Gu and Brother Wen, they're guests at our house, no need to be scared." Aunt Liu patted Qiuqiu's head, then explained to Wen Ran and Gu Yunchi, "My granddaughter, eight years old this year, a little shy around strangers."

"It's fine." Wen Ran wasn't great with kids either — he could only smile at Qiuqiu.

Even though Aunt Liu kept urging them to eat, Wen Ran and Gu Yunchi still waited until Uncle Liu came back before picking up their chopsticks. A plate of white clams looked plain but tasted incredible — Wen Ran ate so hard he couldn't lift his head, and Gu Yunchi carried the whole conversation with Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu the entire meal.

The two elders were very tactful — they didn't pry into where they'd come from, just chatted about the weather, the crops, everyday stuff. Aunt Liu glanced out at the Courtyard mid-sentence: "After we eat we need to sweep the yard — this afternoon's corn harvest has to go somewhere."

Wen Ran finally found a bit of self-awareness, wiped his mouth, and said, "We'll help with the corn too."

Uncle Liu just laughed: "You city kids with your soft skin, there's no way you can handle this work."

"We can handle it." Wen Ran said.

After lunch, they helped clear the dishes. A short rest and it was time to get ready to pick corn. A shirt wasn't great for labor, so Gu Yunchi dug out a T-shirt and changed.

While he was undoing the shirt buttons, Wen Ran sat on the edge of the bed watching, legs swinging idly, his gaze tracking Gu Yunchi's unbuttoning hands as they moved downward bit by bit. His expression was blank — like he was just spacing out, no other thoughts in his head.

Two buttons left. Gu Yunchi paused, grabbed a piece of clothing and dropped it over Wen Ran's head, then shoved his shoulder. Wen Ran didn't resist — got pushed flat onto the bed. A few quiet seconds later, he pulled the shirt off and sat up, and Gu Yunchi had already finished changing.

Wen Ran thought about it, then asked, "Why are you shy?"

"You're not shy." Gu Yunchi folded the shirt and tossed it on the bed, tone flat. "Then strip for me."

"...I'm not changing right now." Wen Ran struggled for half a minute and that was all he could squeeze out.

"You better never change for the rest of your life."

He couldn't do that, so Wen Ran chose to shut up. Hearing Uncle Liu getting ready to head out, he immediately left the room, then couldn't help turning back to rush Gu Yunchi: "Hurry up."

The Cornfield was on a small hill behind the village. Wen Ran and Gu Yunchi helped Uncle Liu push the Three-Wheeled Cart. The sun was brutal — straw hats didn't do much. A few steps in and they were already sweating. There happened to be a big shady tree by the field. Uncle Liu parked the cart under it and tried once more to talk them out of it: "You two don't go into the field, just sit here and enjoy the breeze."

Wen Ran and Gu Yunchi said nothing, pulled on their Gloves, grabbed a woven sack each, and headed into the field to start picking corn.

Cicadas rasping. Wen Ran sweated as he stuffed corn into the sack one by one. He thought he was moving pretty fast — but he was only halfway through a bag when Gu Yunchi had already filled his, hauled it off, loaded it onto the Three-Wheeled Cart, and come back with an empty sack.

Stung by the competition, Wen Ran sped up — and finally stuffed his bag full. He bent down, tried to swing it onto his shoulder, tried for almost half a minute, and the bag of corn didn't move an inch. His head, on the other hand, nearly face-planted into the dirt two or three times.

Just as he was floundering, a pair of long, slender hands reached down and lifted the sack. Wen Ran squinted up — under the straw hat, Gu Yunchi's face was flushed from the heat, sweat beading and rolling down from his temple, sliding past his throat and the side of his neck. He glanced at Wen Ran: "All that food for nothing." Saying that, he hoisted the corn and turned back toward the field's edge.

Wen Ran watched Gu Yunchi's back — old clothes, big straw hat, dressed like some village grandpa, but his face and frame elevated the whole thing into a raw, unpolished kind of natural beauty. Heaven really wasn't fair.

"Stop staring. Work." Gu Yunchi walked back and tossed an empty sack at Wen Ran's feet.

Throwing himself back into the labor, Wen Ran caught up to how absurd his life had become — he and Gu Yunchi were picking corn. The young master Gu, who'd been pampered since birth and never lifted a finger for anything, was out in a field picking corn. If Gu Peiwen found out, he'd probably be devastated enough to cry.

Knowing he couldn't carry it, Wen Ran filled up a whole sack and then stood around pitifully waiting for Gu Yunchi to come haul it. The Three-Wheeled Cart filled up fast. Uncle Liu couldn't take it anymore, panicked: "Oh no, you two are guests, don't work yourselves like livestock, take a break."

Wen Ran and Gu Yunchi ignored him completely — until Qiuqiu showed up with a basket and Xiaohei bringing them water. Only then did the two of them stop, walk over to the tree to rest, while Uncle Liu took the corn on the cart back first.

Wen Ran pulled off his Gloves and straw hat, exhausted and a little spaced out. The Neck Ring sat around his neck — tight and hot. He tugged at it lightly. Gu Yunchi pushed his hair back, tilted his head to glance at him: "If it's uncomfortable, take it off."

"Not taking it off." Wen Ran lifted the back of his hand to wipe the sweat off his chin. "I promised you I wouldn't let you smell my Pheromone."

A beat of silence. Then Gu Yunchi said, "Whatever."

Qiuqiu crouched nearby quietly picking little wildflowers. Xiaohei sat upright, gazing into the distance. The breeze under the tree was cool, carrying the heat away. Wen Ran picked a small purple flower and tucked it into Qiuqiu's braid. Qiuqiu pulled her braid over to look, then looked up and smiled at Wen Ran.

"Why am I sleepy again." Wen Ran yawned, his back and waist aching.

Gu Yunchi was like a heartless drill sergeant — he put on his straw hat and stood up, pulling on his Gloves as he said, "Sleepy? Then work."

The whole afternoon, Wen Ran was supervised by the strict Instructor Gu picking corn — picking until dusk, when the golden-red sunset spread over the mountains and fields. Uncle Liu stayed behind to chop the corn stalks, and Qiuqiu led Wen Ran and Gu Yunchi home, with Xiaohei out in front leading the way.

Walking up the Mountainside, they could see the village entrance — there was a tall banyan tree there, its branches covered in red ribbons fluttering like a ball of fire. Wen Ran asked Qiuqiu, "What are those red ribbons on the tree?"

"Wish Tree." Qiuqiu answered in a tiny voice.

Wen Ran asked her again, "Have you ever made a wish?"

Qiuqiu nodded. "I wish my mom and dad would come back to see me more."

Wen Ran exchanged a glance with Gu Yunchi, then reached out and patted Qiuqiu's head.

They got home covered in dust. Aunt Liu was cooking, and the corn in the Courtyard had already piled up into a little mountain. Wen Ran washed his hands clean and picked at the small blisters forming in his palms — not too bad, he could still pick corn tomorrow.

They waited for Uncle Liu to come back, then everyone ate dinner together. The sky gradually darkened. After resting a while, Gu Yunchi went to shower first. Wen Ran squatted next to Uncle Liu, watching him mend a fishing net.

"This spot's hard to mend, gonna take a few days. Getting old — eyes hurt if I look too long." Uncle Liu said. "But there are other nets we can use, won't hold things up."

Wen Ran watched very carefully, even tried his hand at it a few times. Uncle Liu praised him for being smart, then immediately snatched the net and shuttle back: "Can't let you two keep working. Go rest early. Tomorrow you sleep in a bit before getting up."

Gu Yunchi had just finished showering and walked past Wen Ran, kicking his butt with his shin: "Go shower."

"Oh." Wen Ran stood up and went back to the room to grab his clothes.

Two showers in one day — couldn't get any cleaner. Wen Ran walked into the living room drying his hair. Gu Yunchi was tutoring Qiuqiu on her summer homework, arms crossed like a stern middle-aged teacher. Qiuqiu was visibly nervous, carefully writing her answer. Gu Yunchi didn't hold back: "Wrong."

"There's a parenthesis — didn't you see it?"

Qiuqiu erased the wrong answer, voice thin as a mosquito: "I saw it."

She rewrote the answer, sneaking a glance at Gu Yunchi's reaction. Gu Yunchi gave a slight nod: 'Mm.'

Once Teacher Gu finished his educational duties and came back to the room, Wen Ran sat on the bed and said: "Qiuqiu's already timid enough — why can't you be a little nicer about it?"

Gu Yunchi frowned: "I'm not nice?"

"...Forget it." Wen Ran reached behind himself, pressed his lips together, suddenly finding it hard to say: "Something bit me on my lower back — can you take a look? I can't see it myself."

The mirror in the Bathroom was small and hung high — only good for the face. He had no choice but to ask Gu Yunchi for help.

Gu Yunchi walked over, tilted his chin toward the bed: "Get on the bed."

Wen Ran lay down on his stomach, face resting on his arms, looking back at Gu Yunchi. Gu Yunchi stood beside the bed, lifted the hem of Wen Ran's T-shirt, revealing a stretch of pale, supple waist. He looked down: "It's bleeding."

"?" Wen Ran didn't catch on for a second. "Where is it bleeding?"

"Where else." Gu Yunchi tapped around the wound with his fingertip. "Where it bit you."

Wen Ran shivered slightly at the touch. "So what do we do? I don't think it was a mosquito — it started itching when I was picking corn this afternoon."

"I'll go ask if anyone has ointment."

"Okay."

Lying still on the bed for over half a minute, Wen Ran watched the door. Gu Yunchi came back with a small jar of ointment: "They said this works for any bug bite."

He unscrewed the cap, dabbed some ointment, and rubbed it in circles on Wen Ran's waist. A little cool, a little itchy. Wen Ran watched Gu Yunchi's lowered face — couldn't see his fingers, but could imagine the pads of them turning gently on his skin, the sensation was that clear. Gu Yunchi's gaze was right on his bare waist, nothing blocking it. The thought made Wen Ran freeze — he suddenly turned his head away and buried his face in his arms.

Done, Gu Yunchi went out to wash his hands. Wen Ran scooted further onto the bed, lay on the pillow to let the ointment dry. After a while, Gu Yunchi came back and flipped the switch by the door, killing the light. Darkness. Wen Ran turned his head to watch his silhouette approach and lie down.

Moonlight came through the window, the room turning deep blue, slowly sinking into stillness. Exhausted but unable to sleep, Wen Ran traced Gu Yunchi's profile with his eyes in the dark blue — forehead, brow, nose, lips. He had a feeling Gu Yunchi wasn't sleeping either. Wen Ran asked softly: "Why don't you want to go home?"

Gu Yunchi half-opened his eyes, his gaze fixed on some point in the dimness: "My grandfather likes to go pay respects to my parents once a year, right after his birthday."

A little surprised, Wen Ran opened his mouth: "Does the whole Gu Family have to go, but you don't want to go with them?"

"This time your family might be there too."

Wen Ran froze. Gu Yunchi hadn't scolded him, yet he felt worse than if he had. The shame, the humiliation, the guilt that Chen Shuhui and Wen Rui didn't have to feel — all of it landed on him, doubled. And he couldn't even argue he was different.

And there really wasn't any difference. He was the Wen Family's accomplice, the same breed. Gu Yunchi should hate him.

Seeing Wen Ran's silence, Gu Yunchi said: "I didn't even scold you — what are you acting wronged for?"

"I'm not wronged. You'd be right to scold me." Wen Ran accepted it all. "But like this, Grandpa Gu will worry. He might not know what you're thinking — just that you've disappeared."

"Already told Heyang in advance. He'll handle it."

"That's good then." Wen Ran felt a bit better, said casually: "Lu Heyang seems really reliable."

Gu Yunchi said: "He has a boyfriend. Stop dreaming."

Wen Ran: ?

"What do you think Lu Heyang is, some good guy?" Gu Yunchi continued.

"If he's not a good guy, why are you friends with him?" Wen Ran said. "And He Wei — I think he's pretty nice too."

Gu Yunchi insulted every one of his brothers equally: "None of them are any good."

"Okay, maybe I just don't know them well enough." Wen Ran gave up arguing and asked: "How did you figure out the yacht was dangerous?"

Recalling Gu Yunchi's conversation with the captain and the order to turn off the lights, Wen Ran was sure Gu Yunchi had known from the start.

"The bodyguard." Gu Yunchi closed his eyes. "Normally he'd volunteer to follow me, but last night he hesitated."

Wen Ran's eyes went wide, he pushed himself up: "You mean your bodyguard was in on it with someone? Has he been with you long?"

"Six years." Gu Yunchi was calm.

Wen Ran was speechless. Six years — maybe it was exactly because they'd been together so long that the bodyguard hesitated, and that's why Gu Yunchi saw through him instantly.

"Are you upset?" Wen Ran lay back down, looking at him.

"No need. It's not the first time." Gu Yunchi said lightly. "He's the one who should be upset."

There was no sincerity under interests. Many people fawned over him, and many hoped he would die. Wen Ran thought, Gu Yunchi was probably already used to the betrayal of those around him. Loyalty bought with money was too precious — if it couldn't last a lifetime, a few years was still worth it.

"Were there other bad people on the yacht?"

"Not sure, but further ahead there had to be other boats lying in wait, planning to move during the small hours when everyone was asleep." Gu Yunchi said. "So I had to leave first. After all, I'm the target."

Wen Ran had only seen this kind of thing on TV — like the crash on the mountain road last time. Even though this kidnapping hadn't actually happened, he was still worried: "Was it the same people who planned the car crash? What do they want you for — to threaten Grandpa Gu?"

"Who knows. Maybe drag me out to international waters and feed me to the fish."

Wen Ran couldn't understand how he could say something like that so lightly. He watched him. Gu Yunchi's eyes were still closed. "What — afraid that if I die your family won't get any benefits?"

Wen Ran sat up, voice low: "No." He didn't really understand his own feelings either — just that imagining the scene Gu Yunchi described scared him badly. He said: "Even if there were no benefits at all, I'd still want you to be safe and alive."

Gu Yunchi opened his eyes and looked at Wen Ran. Silver moonlight fell on his face, cold and without warmth.

The phone suddenly rang. Wen Ran flinched. Gu Yunchi rubbed his temple, looking a bit tired: "Put it on speaker."

"Okay." Wen Ran crawled to the foot of the bed, reached toward the cabinet, and pressed speaker.

"Are you asleep? Am I not interrupting anything?" He Wei asked carefully.

Gu Yunchi, tired and impatient: "We're sleeping."

"Ah... uh..." He Wei muttered on the other end — what does 'sleeping' even mean, it's not what I'm thinking, right... After a few seconds of muttering, he said: "Even though Heyang told me not to bother you, I'm just a bit worried — is there anything you need me to handle? I'll take care of it."

Gu Yunchi: "Don't call again."

"...That's all you want to tell me? Okay." He Wei asked: "Wen Ran, what about you?"

Wen Ran: "Happy birthday."

"...Fine, thanks." He Wei said. "You two are insane!"

The call ended. The room went quiet again. Wen Ran lay down on his pillow, pressing one side of his body against the wall so he wouldn't touch Gu Yunchi and annoy him. Neither spoke again. Their breathing grew steady and slow among the insect sounds.

He didn't know how long he'd slept. Even the insects outside had stopped. Wen Ran woke from the heat — but it wasn't his own body that was hot. His arm was pressed against Gu Yunchi's, and he could feel the burning heat coming off the other's skin.

Wen Ran sat up abruptly, leaned closer to Gu Yunchi: "Do you have a fever?"

Gu Yunchi frowned, slowly opened his eyes. Wen Ran pressed his palm to Gu Yunchi's forehead — burning hot. Wen Ran said: "You really do have a fever."

"What do we do." Under Gu Yunchi's unfocused gaze, Wen Ran worried: "You absolutely cannot get sick — we still have to carry corn tomorrow."

Gu Yunchi: "..."