Once a young man has had a taste, it’s hard to stop. Zhou Jiayu had been a virgin for over two decades, and after finally doing what was supposed to happen with the person he loved, he found himself in a complete state of bewilderment. Naturally, he was unwilling to let it end there and began to think about how to have a second time.

He hadn’t even figured out a method when Lin Zhushui threw a direct curveball: “Do you want to come live with me?” Zhou Jiayu, who had been lounging on the sofa like a salted fish, immediately sat up straight at these words, stars practically sparkling in his eyes. “Can I?”

“Why not?” Lin Zhushui’s expression was calm. “We’re in a relationship.” Indeed, ever since confirming his feelings for Zhou Jiayu, Lin Zhushui had always been direct, showing no shyness whether professing his love or making advances. Zhou Jiayu also straightened his small back and accepted Lin Zhushui’s invitation.

Everyone else in the house was quiet. After all, among the people in this house, only Zhou Jiayu and Lin Zhushui were having sex. Shen Yiqiong, nearby, gnawed sadly and furiously on a braised pig trotters. Zhou Jiayu glanced at him and said, “Shen Yiqiong, can you stop getting your dirty pig trotter hands all over Little Paper?” Shen Yiqiong replied that Little Paper would be taking a bath anyway that night. Zhou Jiayu retorted, “And I’m the one who has to wash him!”

Shen Yiqiong said, “You’re moving out, so from now on, I’ll be the only one washing Little Paper.” He then hugged Little Paper and began to fake cry, saying, “Little Paper, your life is so hard, your daddy doesn’t want you anymore…” Little Paper looked bewildered and reached out to touch his head, which was greasy from Shen Yiqiong’s hand.

Lin Zhushui, who had been silent beside them, suddenly spoke up, “Or maybe you can come live with us too?” Shen Yiqiong instantly cowered, saying, “No, no, I just like being with my senior brothers. I’m not used to living with fewer people.”

And so, the matter was settled. Zhou Jiayu packed his luggage, bid farewell to the single dormitory, and began his cohabitation with Lin Zhushui.

The young man, having had a taste, was like a beast that had smelled blood. On the second day of moving in, Zhou Jiayu and Lin Zhushui had something happen again. The specific situation is indescribable, but suffice it to say, Zhou Jiayu’s body almost fell apart, and he limped for two more days. After that, Zhou Jiayu became a little scared, feeling like he was going to die in bed, and even started trying to suggest moving out. 

Of course, Zhou Jiayu’s suggestion was severely suppressed in the end. Lin Zhushui gently rubbed the tattoo on his waist and tenderly asked if he didn’t like it. Zhou Jiayu, trembling, lay on the bed and tearfully said he did. 

However, Lin Zhushui was also afraid of pushing Zhou Jiayu too hard and causing a rebound, so he reined himself in a bit. In any case, during that period, Shen Yiqiong and the others didn’t see much of Zhou Jiayu, and Lin Zhushui also practically disappeared, to the point where even Lin Jue couldn’t find him. But isn’t that how it is during the honeymoon phase? The few single friends just comforted each other, and that was that.

Since Xu Jinghuo sent the soil, there had been no news from Meng Yangtian and his group. They hadn’t caused any more trouble and had become very quiet, suggesting that something might have gone wrong within their ranks. Zhou Jiayu suspected his loss of physical control that one time was due to the yin soil. He asked Lin Zhushui, who confirmed it and told him to stay away from yin soil and magic arrays to avoid being affected.

However, Zhou Jiayu felt that his body had developed another problem… He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he felt increasingly sensitive to cold. After intercourse with Lin Zhushui, his constitution should have improved, but Zhou Jiayu felt cold more and more frequently. At first, it was once every one or two months, then it progressed to every ten-odd days, and by the time autumn arrived this year, feeling cold had become commonplace.

“What’s going on?” Zhou Jiayu, after discovering this problem with his body, first communicated with Ji Ba. “Why do I always feel cold lately? Is it because autumn is coming? But it wasn’t like this in previous years.”

Ji Ba said, “You feel cold? Describe it specifically.”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Um… it’s just cold, hard to describe. Although it feels a bit better after being with Sir, it doesn’t last very long.” When he mentioned “Sir,” he felt a little embarrassed and coughed dryly.

Ji Ba was quiet for a while, a bit confused. “That’s impossible. Logically, such a problem shouldn’t occur.” Zhou Jiayu sighed faintly, seeing that it didn’t know either. He thought he could only tell Lin Zhushui about it. Although it felt troublesome, it was better than something irreversible happening.

So that night, Zhou Jiayu lay beside Lin Zhushui and subtly told him about feeling increasingly cold. Lin Zhushui’s fingers were gently tapping the tattoo on Zhou Jiayu’s waist, and hearing this, his movements paused. “Body cold?”

“Um… yes,” Zhou Jiayu said.

Lin Zhushui asked, “Where do you feel the coldness coming from?”

Zhou Jiayu said he couldn’t quite explain it, but it wasn’t like physical coldness. This coldness felt like it seeped from his bones, then flowed through his blood, pouring all the way into his heart, always making him feel particularly uncomfortable.

As he described it, Lin Zhushui furrowed his brows slightly and asked, “How long has this been going on?”

Zhou Jiayu said, “At first, it was about once every two months, now it’s every ten-odd days…” It was late autumn now, the weather wasn’t too cold, and two days ago it was still warm enough to just wear a T-shirt, so it shouldn’t be like this.

Lin Zhushui thought for a while, then said, “It’s fine, go to sleep.” Zhou Jiayu saw no change in his expression, so he settled down and fell into a deep sleep.

However, the next day, Lin Zhushui called Lin Jue, seemingly wanting to discuss something with her. Zhou Jiayu also wanted to go and listen, but Shen Yiqiong pulled him away, saying that he was going to make some new clothes for Little Paper that day and wanted Zhou Jiayu to come give his opinion. Zhou Jiayu didn’t think much of it and went along.

Who knew that when he returned after making the clothes, he saw Lin Jue coming out of Lin Zhushui’s room with traces of tears at the corners of her eyes, her eye makeup smudged, looking as if she had been crying.

“Auntie Lin, what’s wrong?” Zhou Jiayu was startled by Lin Jue’s expression. Lin Jue had a broad personality, so it was clearly rare for anything to make her cry.

“It’s nothing.” Lin Jue saw Zhou Jiayu and smiled. “It’s just…” She paused for a moment and whispered, “His death anniversary is approaching, and I’m a little sad.”

“Oh,” Zhou Jiayu replied, then offered a few words of comfort. Lin Jue nodded at him and turned to leave. Zhou Jiayu watched her retreating figure, his heart sinking. He said, “Ji Ba.”

Ji Ba hummed.

Zhou Jiayu said, “Auntie Lin is lying to me.”

Ji Ba, who had been preening its feathers, immediately froze when it heard Zhou Jiayu’s words. “What do you mean? Why would she lie to you?”

Zhou Jiayu looked down at his hands and gave a wry smile, “How would I know?”

Previously, fearing he might touch Lin Jue’s forbidden topics, he had specifically asked Shen Yiqiong and the others about Lin Jue’s lover. Lin Jue’s lover had died in the summer, from an acute illness. At the time, their marriage had already been arranged, and Lin Jue had even chosen her wedding dress, but he still passed away. Lin Jue’s pleas and tears couldn’t snatch him from the hands of death. He left her alone in this world. So, when Lin Jue said it was her lover’s death anniversary, she was clearly deceiving Zhou Jiayu, and the fact that she could tell such a clumsy lie meant she was definitely distraught.

So, what exactly was it that made Lin Jue cry so miserably and so flustered? Zhou Jiayu had a vague premonition that was hard to articulate. He stood at the door for a long time before pushing it open. As soon as he entered, he saw Lin Zhushui sitting alone in the empty hall, inexplicably exuding a sense of loneliness.

“Sir,” Zhou Jiayu called out to Lin Zhushui, “What’s wrong?”

Lin Zhushui beckoned to Zhou Jiayu: “Come here.”

Zhou Jiayu slowly walked over.

“Are you tired?” Lin Zhushui asked.

The sky outside was already getting late, and the lights in the room weren’t very bright. Zhou Jiayu sat beside Lin Zhushui. Fearing that Lin Zhushui wouldn’t see him, he placed his hand on the back of Lin Zhushui’s hand. “Not yet, Sir.”

“Mm,” Lin Zhushui said. “I have something to do tomorrow and might be away for two months.”

Winter would be arriving next month, and Zhou Jiayu hadn’t expected Lin Zhushui to suggest leaving now. Zhou Jiayu opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn’t know what to say.

Lin Zhushui said, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll leave you enough blood. You can drink some when you feel cold to alleviate it.”

Zhou Jiayu’s head slowly dropped. He grabbed Lin Zhushui’s wrist, wanting to pull up his sleeve, but Lin Zhushui tried to pull his hand back.

“Sir,” Zhou Jiayu didn’t let go. He held onto Lin Zhushui’s wrist tightly and looked up. “Sir, didn’t you tell me before that if anything happened, I shouldn’t hide it from you?”

Lin Zhushui frowned. “Yes, I said that.”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Then can I also tell you… if anything happens… don’t hide it from me.” He didn’t believe that Lin Zhushui’s departure this time had nothing to do with him. All the signs were too obvious; Zhou Jiayu couldn’t deceive himself.

Lin Zhushui remained silent. Zhou Jiayu looked eagerly at Lin Zhushui, anticipating his answer. Lin Zhushui seemed to feel Zhou Jiayu’s gaze. He exhaled, as if making a decision. “Zhou Jiayu, you’re sick.”

Zhou Jiayu was stunned, not expecting this answer.

“To be precise, your body is sick,” Lin Zhushui said. “You weren’t originally a body of extreme yin. It’s just that because you died once, the yin energy in your body became particularly strong. The longer you live, the stronger this yin energy will become. Now, your body can no longer bear such dense yin energy…”

So that’s how it was. Zhou Jiayu looked somewhat bewildered upon hearing the answer. He asked, “Then… is it serious?”

“Not serious,” Lin Zhushui said. “Lin Jue and I have already discussed a method. We just need to go out for a trip…” He twisted his wrist slightly, breaking free from Zhou Jiayu’s grip, and then wrapped his arm tightly around Zhou Jiayu’s shoulders. “Zhou Jiayu, trust me.”

Zhou Jiayu gave a soft hum. He should have trusted Lin Zhushui. Whatever Sir said, he believed it was true, but only with this matter before them, a tremor arose deep within him—he knew that unless it was an emergency, Lin Zhushui would absolutely not leave him here alone to get through the winter.

“Am I going to die?” Zhou Jiayu lowered his head and leaned on Lin Zhushui’s shoulder. He didn’t know why he said it, but the words just came out naturally. He said, “If I’m going to die, I hope, Sir, you won’t leave me, and stay with me for my last days…”

“Zhou Jiayu,” Lin Zhushui gritted his teeth, “Where do you want to die? In bed?”

Zhou Jiayu: “…” Sir, you’ve changed. You weren’t like this before.

The Sir who wasn’t like this before hugged his little fish and gave his little fish a comforting, deep kiss. Their breathing became long and slow, and they both became aroused. Lin Zhushui was always direct, and he simply carried Zhou Jiayu upstairs. That night, both parties were very happy. Just before falling asleep, Zhou Jiayu clung tightly to Lin Zhushui’s waist, his body, somewhat overstimulated, unconsciously whimpering, saying, “Sir, don’t leave.”

Lin Zhushui’s eyes, however, were already open, taking in Zhou Jiayu’s appearance completely: his reddened eyes, his nose tip glistening with sweat, and his red, slightly bruised lips. Lin Zhushui looked at him, as if to imprint his image firmly in his mind.

“Zhou Jiayu,” Lin Zhushui said, “Wait for me to come back.”

Zhou Jiayu could no longer hear Lin Zhushui’s words. He was truly exhausted. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

The next afternoon, when Zhou Jiayu woke up, Lin Zhushui was already gone. He opened his eyes and felt a little cold, reaching out to pull the blanket tighter. Little Paper’s voice came: “Daddy, Daddy, are you awake?” Zhou Jiayu turned his head and saw it lying beside his pillow, happily propping its face up and looking at him.

“Mm, I’m awake.” Zhou Jiayu felt a bit of a headache. He reached out and scratched Little Paper’s head twice. “Good boy… how did you get here?”

“Big Daddy told me to come,” Little Paper said. “Big Daddy went on an airplane, and told Little Paper to take good care of Daddy.” It seriously leaned closer, pressed its flat mouth to Zhou Jiayu’s forehead, and earnestly said, “Time to get up and eat, don’t lie in bed.”

Zhou Jiayu was amused and sat up in bed. His upper body was still covered in some ambiguous marks, but thankfully Little Paper wasn’t human and didn’t understand such things. Seeing Zhou Jiayu get up, Little Paper quickly brought over a cup of soy milk. Zhou Jiayu took a sip and immediately tasted a metallic, bloody tang unique to blood. It must have been mixed with Lin Zhushui’s blood. Zhou Jiayu’s hand tightened around the cup, and his smile became a bit forced.

“What’s wrong, Daddy?” Little Paper noticed Zhou Jiayu was a bit unhappy and looked up, asking, “Is the soy milk not good?”

“No, it’s good,” Zhou Jiayu lowered his head and repeated earnestly, “Very… good.”

Lin Zhushui just left, and Lin Jue went with him. No one knew where they went, or what they went to do. The disciples weren’t foolish; they clearly sensed that Lin Zhushui’s sudden departure this time wasn’t normal. Given Lin Zhushui’s personality, he would never leave Zhou Jiayu alone at home for the winter unless something major had happened.

The long winter was approaching. Zhou Jiayu moved back into the communal small building from Lin Zhushui’s place to avoid having to make the trip every day.

“You’re back again,” Shen Yiqiong exclaimed. “You don’t know how much I missed you during the days you were gone.”

Zhou Jiayu said, “Do you miss me, or do you miss my braised pig trotters?”

Shen Yiqiong said, “Can’t I miss both?”

Zhou Jiayu said, “You have to choose one.”

Shen Yiqiong immediately touched his chest, indicating that he definitely missed Zhou Jiayu, after all, if there were no braised pig trotters, there would still be braised chicken feet, braised duck feet, roast flower duck, roast young chicken, roast gosling feet…

Zhou Jiayu told him to get lost.

The weather grew increasingly gloomy. In early November, the first snow fell suddenly. Little Golden Dragon and Zhou Jiayu sat on stools by the door. Zhou Jiayu was already wearing a down jacket, and he chatted idly with Little Golden Dragon: “What are you worried about?”

The Little Golden Dragon pointed to the缸 at the door.

Zhou Jiayu said, “Will it freeze?”

The Little Golden Dragon nodded.

Zhou Jiayu was a bit surprised: “Does it freeze every year?”

The Little Golden Dragon shook its head: “Not at home.”

“Oh.” Zhou Jiayu reached out his hand to catch a snowflake, watching it melt on his fingertips. “Are you homesick?”

“No,” Little Golden Dragon said. “I miss Lin Jue. She’s better than home.”

Zhou Jiayu suddenly laughed. He didn’t know how long Little Golden Dragon would have to cling to Lin Jue before getting his wish, but he secretly hoped Little Golden Dragon would succeed soon. After all, sometimes seeing Lin Jue alone made him feel a bit worried.

Shen Yiqiong, wearing a sweater, rushed over and asked Zhou Jiayu what they were having for dinner that night. Zhou Jiayu asked him what he wanted to eat. Shen Yiqiong thought for a moment and asked if hotpot was okay. Zhou Jiayu said yes.

So that night, Zhou Jiayu prepared the hotpot broth himself and made a delicious hotpot meal. Now that his body was a bit weak, Shen Yiqiong and the others would come to the kitchen to help with cooking, handling the simple knife work while Zhou Jiayu was in charge of the cooking and seasoning.

The hotpot was served, with fresh ingredients placed beside it. Shen Yiqiong blanched a piece of tender beef and crammed it into his mouth, muttering indistinctly that the pot was delicious, and if Zhou Jiayu were a girl, he would definitely marry him. Zhou Jiayu tapped his bowl with his chopsticks and said, “Show some respect to your senior brother’s wife.” Everyone laughed.

No matter the time, everyone in the house tacitly avoided mentioning Lin Zhushui and Lin Jue. After dinner, Zhou Jiayu went to bed early. Now, he would feel drowsy by afternoon and could fall asleep in bed by eight or nine at night.

Today, Zhou Jiayu went to bed early as usual. Because they were afraid he’d be cold, Shen Musi and the others had specially put an electric blanket on his bed. Although the effect was mediocre, it was still their kind thought. Just as Zhou Jiayu was about to fall asleep, his phone rang. He picked it up and saw the number, and Zhou Jiayu immediately woke up – it was Lin Zhushui’s number.

“Hello,” Zhou Jiayu quickly answered the phone. “Is that Sir?”

“Jiayu,” Lin Zhushui’s voice came from the other end. “Are you asleep?”

“I’m not asleep,” Zhou Jiayu said, feeling his mood brighten instantly upon hearing Lin Zhushui’s voice. He sat up in bed. “Sir, where are you? When are you coming back…”

“Soon,” Lin Zhushui’s voice was still faint, just as Zhou Jiayu remembered it. The two had not seen each other for almost half a month, which felt like an eternity to Zhou Jiayu, who was in love. “Have you missed me?”

“Very much,” Zhou Jiayu honestly answered Lin Zhushui’s question. “Does Sir miss me?”

“Yes,” Lin Zhushui said. “I want to come back and see you right now.”

Outside the window, snowflakes rustled. Zhou Jiayu leaned against the wall, rambling to Lin Zhushui. He talked for half an hour, and he was already extremely tired, but he still refused to hang up, vaguely responding to Lin Zhushui’s words. Finally, Zhou Jiayu had no idea when the call ended. When he woke up, he was already lying in bed. It seemed someone had been there and even covered him with a blanket.

Zhou Jiayu asked Ji Ba if anyone had been there. Ji Ba said, “After you fell asleep, Lin Zhushui seemed to have called his disciple and had Shen Yiqiong come in and help you lie down.”

“Oh.” Zhou Jiayu felt a little disappointed. “I dreamed about Sir… and thought he had come back.”

Ji Ba fell silent.

Zhou Jiayu said, “When will he come back? If I really can’t live much longer, I really hope to spend my last moments with him.”

Ji Ba said, “Zhou Jiayu, don’t overthink things.”

Zhou Jiayu sighed, feeling that humans were truly insatiable creatures. This life of his was originally a捡one, and it seemed perfectly justifiable to return it, but the thought of leaving Lin Zhushui and the people he spent every day with in the house still left him with regrets.

“Am I going to die?” Zhou Jiayu asked Ji Ba.

Ji Ba slowly squatted on the turtle shell below. It said, “No, you won’t die.”

Zhou Jiayu then stopped speaking.

Because Zhou Jiayu’s health wasn’t good, Little Paper had been sleeping with the weasel recently. The two of them would curl up in the living room. As soon as Zhou Jiayu went downstairs, he saw Little Paper wrapping the weasel with its body, and the atmosphere between them was remarkably harmonious.

“Little Paper,” Zhou Jiayu called its name. Little Paper transformed from a paper tube back to its usual form, scampering to Zhou Jiayu’s front, climbing up his body to his shoulder, and calling out “Daddy.” Zhou Jiayu stroked its head, feeling that it had grown a little larger. Little Paper said, “Daddy, it’s snowing heavily.” Zhou Jiayu looked up and out the window, realizing that indeed a heavy snow had fallen last night. Between heaven and earth, there was only a world of silver and white, dazzling to the eye at first glance.

“Ah, it’s snowing again.” This was the third winter Zhou Jiayu had spent here. He knew Little Paper liked snow, and he stroked its head. “Do you want to go out and see?”

“Can I?” Little Paper looked up obediently.

“Of course,” Zhou Jiayu was amused by its docile appearance. Due to his sexual orientation, he probably wouldn’t have children in this life, so Little Paper was like his son. “I won’t go with you. You and Little Yellow go together.” The weasel had also put on its thick fur.

“Okay, okay,” Little Paper said happily. The next moment, it took the weasel’s hand and went to the snowy ground. Zhou Jiayu stood by the window, watching them play in the snow, and again felt a coldness emanating from his bones. He exhaled, thinking tiredly, This coldness seems to be happening more and more frequently…