Up on the rooftop, the wind swirled in circles.

The corrugated iron roof, which covered only a small section of the area, was clattered by the gusts time and again, letting out a rhythmic clang-clang noise as if it had grown thoroughly exasperated by the harassment. Beneath the iron sheets hung a clothesline; the freshly hung clothes were soaking wet, swaying back and forth in the night wind and flinging off a few stray drops of water.

It felt as though it were raining.

Having finally shaken off his shadow, Shi Linchuan had made his way up to the rooftop alone. After hanging up the laundry, he wasn’t in any rush to head back downstairs to rest. Instead, he found a blind spot tucked away from the fixed cameras and pulled a cigarette pack and a lighter out of his trousers pocket.

Click.

With a cigarette clamped between his lips, Shi Linchuan shielded the flame with one hand and flicked the lighter with the other.

A bright orange flame burst from the nozzle, slicing through the light and shadow. It carved the man’s features into sharper, more striking relief, thawing a fraction of the frosty aura around his eyes and making him look a little less cold.

Shi Linchuan hadn’t put his glasses back on since taking his shower.

In truth, his prescription was very mild. It didn’t hinder his daily activities in the slightest, unless he needed precise vision for things like reading documents or driving.

And so, at this very moment.

With no barrier to block it, the warm color danced right into the man’s eyes.

Like golden sand shifting in the deep sea, gleaming and shimmering.

The vault of the sky was pitch-black, and the moon lay lazily amidst the dark clouds. Shi Linchuan tilted his head back to look at the moon, the lingering warmth on his face suppressed by the gentle, icy moonlight. At the same time, gray-white smoke curled out from the corner of his lips, vanishing silently into the night.

It had nothing to do with Xie Jinghe.

It was simply that the price of honesty often left a person feeling uncomfortable and exposed, and he was no exception. As Shi Linchuan thought this, his peripheral vision caught a figure appearing by the iron door of the rooftop. His upper body looked bulky, bundled up in a thick coat that clearly didn’t belong to him as he slowly approached.

The shadow had tracked him down.

Aided by the dim light of the yellow bulb under the iron awning, Shi Linchuan noticed a plush flannel scarf folded into a square tucked under the newcomer’s arm. Its pattern and style looked intimately familiar.

Xie Jinghe walked over without a word. Snapping the scarf open, he wrapped it around Shi Linchuan’s neck layer by layer. Then, in one swift motion, he snatched the half-burnt cigarette from the man’s lips and took a deep drag himself.

The cherry of the cigarette glowed brightly for a few seconds before dimming again.

As the scent of nicotine drifted away, Shi Linchuan caught the faint aroma of laundry softener radiating from the scarf around his neck. It was the fragrance their household always used, stubbornly forcing its way into his nose.

Infuriatingly persistent.

Just like Xie Jinghe.

Shi Linchuan stared straight ahead, gazing at the village and the silhouettes of trees shrouded in darkness. The sound of the night wind rustling through the world filled his ears, yet he felt the present moment was entirely too quiet—so quiet that it made him want to say something, anything, to break this thick, sticky atmosphere.

And so, he remarked casually,

“Stop meddling. I’m not cold.”

Not knowing what the man was looking at, Xie Jinghe simply followed his gaze into the distance. After a few seconds, he gave his finger a light flick, dusting away the ash, and suddenly murmured in a low voice:

“There’s a type of cold called ‘your wife thinks you’re cold.'”

In reality, the two rarely used terms like “husband” or “wife” in their daily lives. They had only used them with any frequency during the honeymoon phase of their relationship and early marriage; the rest of the time, they mostly called each other by name.

After all, neither of them was that young anymore.

One was in his early thirties, and the other was fast approaching thirty.

Shi Linchuan thought back carefully and realized that the last time Xie Jinghe had called him that was already half a year ago. Back then, he was still maintaining his gentle persona. Holding Xie Jinghe in his lap, his mind had wandered to when his “unemployment” would be most dramatic, and his movements had grown slow and shallow from distraction.

Like scratching an itch through a boot—never quite hitting the spot.

Exasperatedly teasing.

As the memory played out, Shi Linchuan ran a hand through his bangs. He could almost hear the person in his arms back then, bringing a faint sob to his ear as he whispered, “Husband,” begging him to give him some relief and stop torturing him with such light, agonizing touches that left him completely suspended.

Xie Jinghe was a very handsome man.

That was a universally acknowledged fact.

But only Shi Linchuan knew…

Even though Xie Jinghe loved men and took the submissive role, his demeanor was never effeminate. It was only when he was securely in his arms that he would become incredibly soft, even a bit delicate, speaking with a subtle, spoiled undertone.

It was as if he had a piece of candy tucked away in his mouth, tinting his voice with a fraction of sweetness.

Right at that moment.

A sharp ripping sound tore through the air next to him.

Shi Linchuan’s train of thought was broken. He instinctively turned toward the source of the noise, only to find that Xie Jinghe had finished the cigarette at some point and had inexplicably produced a bag of Skittles from his pocket.

Gripping the wrapper with one hand, he bit down on the jagged plastic edge with his sharp teeth, cleanly tearing open a corner. He then thrust the palm-sized bag right in front of Shi Linchuan’s face and asked, “Want some?”

Shi Linchuan: “…”

During this month-long filming cycle, the program crew had not only heartlessly confiscated their phones but had also forbidden them from using their own money. Furthermore, guests were strictly barred from bringing snacks or drinks in their luggage.

He hadn’t expected Xie Jinghe to overtly flout the rules and secretly hoard candy.

After a few seconds of deliberation, Shi Linchuan snatched the entire bag away. He casually shook out a few artificially colored candies into his hand, popped them into his mouth, and crunched them down to swallow.

Sickeningly sweet. Absolutely terrible.

Xie Jinghe tilted his head to look at him. “Give me one.”

Shi Linchuan: “Get lost. I’m reporting you in a minute.”

Hearing this, Xie Jinghe remained completely unbothered, replying unhurriedly, “I bought those for you, and you’re the only one eating them right now. What does it have to do with me?”

Shi Linchuan let out a cold snort. He immediately pinched a round, flat blueberry-flavored candy from the bag, making a motion to stuff it into the other’s mouth.

However, just as Xie Jinghe suppressed his inner delight and opened his mouth in anticipation, the hand holding the candy flashed past him. With a swift flick of the man’s bony wrist, the candy sailed through the air, tracing a perfect arc…

And landed straight into the man’s own mouth.

Completely abandoning the dining etiquette he had been raised with since childhood, Shi Linchuan crunched the crisp-shelled, soft-centered candy with far more noise than necessary. Noticing the thoroughly unamused expression on Xie Jinghe’s face, he let out a smug, mocking laugh. “Thought I was going to feed you? Stop flattering yourself.”

Xie Jinghe: “…”

How childish.

The words had barely landed when he saw the man’s Adam’s apple bob up and down, clearly swallowing the contents completely. At the same time, Shi Linchuan poured out a yellow, lemon-flavored candy from the bag, saying with a disdainful tone, “Fine, I’ll give you one. Open up.”

Xie Jinghe shot him a highly skeptical look, but he opened his mouth anyway.

The next second, Shi Linchuan decisively popped the candy into his own mouth. While chewing, he even arched an eyebrow at him. “I was just saying that and you actually believed it? Is your intelligence even at a normal human level?”

Xie Jinghe: “…”

His fists were actively clenching.

Taking advantage of the fact that neither of them had their wireless mics on and that they were well out of range of the rooftop’s fixed camera, Xie Jinghe took a step closer with a stern face, shot back sharply: “Oh, really? If my intelligence weren’t normal, you’d have been crying behind iron bars a long time ago.”

His face was pulled into a long, sour scowl.

Shi Linchuan glanced at him, then suddenly said, “Alright, I’ll really give you one this time.”

A gust of freezing wind swept past, causing Xie Jinghe to shrink his neck into his collar. He turned his head to look at the distant night scenery, refusing to look at the scoundrel beside him, and muttered with absolute clarity,

“You’re definitely lying to me again.”

Shi Linchuan said decisively, “Don’t eat it then.”

Xie Jinghe opened his mouth.

Shi Linchuan: Crunch, crunch.

Unable to take it anymore, Xie Jinghe kicked the man’s shin.

Shi Linchuan didn’t dodge. Even after taking the kick, his expression didn’t change a bit, standing as unyieldingly stable as a pillar. He repeated in a calm, collected manner, “See? I told you you were stupid, and you didn’t believe me.”

Refusing to back down, Xie Jinghe glared at him, his eyes practically breathing fire.

Meeting his fierce gaze, Shi Linchuan calmly chewed his candy, his fingers rustling in and out of the plastic bag. The crinkling noise inexplicably amplified the man’s provocative aura.

Xie Jinghe simply glared like that for several minutes.

The light behind them illuminated half the rooftop, but its reach was limited.

By the time the glow spread to the corner where they stood, it had become incredibly weak, leaving only a faint, dim residual warmth stubbornly fighting against the night shadows engulfing the world.

Most of the man’s face was plunged into cool-toned shadows, but a very faint layer of warm light caught the edge of his silhouette, making for a gentle yet striking contrast.

Xie Jinghe suddenly realized…

A very faint smile was tugging at the corner of Shi Linchuan’s mouth. It was incredibly subtle, just like that residual light, but it was unmistakably there, resting on the man’s lips. It made his cold, narrow eyes look significantly more vivid.

Childish, pure, and as uncomplicated as a teenager.

It was as if a slice of time that had been stripped away from him was flowing backward, quietly brushing against his face. More than that, it felt as though some deeply buried emotions had cracked through their hardened shell, hesitantly pushing out a fragile, tender sprout.

For some reason, Xie Jinghe suddenly felt his eyes grow stinging and hot.

He hurriedly averted his gaze, lowering his head to steady the rhythm of his breathing, intending to get his expression under control before looking up again…

However, in the very next instant.

A head unexpectedly ducked right under Xie Jinghe’s face from the side, like a scene repeating from yesterday.

Immediately after, Xie Jinghe heard the loud, crisp crunch-crunch coming from the man’s mouth, followed by a highly provoking question:

“Crying from anger already?”

Their faces were incredibly close.

As he spoke, the sweet scent of the candy drifted between them.

It was lemon-flavored.

Sour and sweet, making one’s mouth water.

Seeing his expression, the man froze slightly, but his face quickly returned to its usual nonchalance. He then pulled a candy out of the bag and pressed it against Xie Jinghe’s lips.

“I won’t tease you anymore. Eat.”

Xie Jinghe, of course, wasn’t crying.

But he didn’t eat the candy at his lips either.

He simply leaned down, fiercely capturing Shi Linchuan’s lips in a sudden kiss. His tongue darted skillfully into the man’s mouth, sweeping through and successfully plundering half the candy. The outer shell had already melted slightly from the heat inside, revealing the soft core within and making the sweetness all the more intense.

Xie Jinghe: Crunch, crunch.

Shi Linchuan: “…”