November 3, 2025 — 12:23 pm

Chapter Four

Days passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the holiday.

During the National Day holiday, Xu Yan went home, and Zhou Bin went to see his girlfriend. Only Zhang Xiaotian and Lu Bai, who were about to set off, remained in the dormitory.

“We’ll be fine if we get to the station half an hour early. The next city isn’t a famous tourist spot, so it won’t be too crowded,” Lu Bai checked their IDs and luggage. “Make sure you have your ID card and student ID, and your clothes for the next few days.”

“I’ve got it all,” Zhang Xiaotian slung his backpack over his shoulder. “Didn’t you check everything yesterday? Why are you acting like a primary school student going on a field trip?”

“I’m just excited!” Lu Bai chuckled. “If you’ve finished checking everything, we can head over to the station and wait.”

“Then let’s go,” Zhang Xiaotian said.

The nearly two-hour journey felt both long and short, and before they knew it, they had arrived in another city. The two first went to the pre-booked hotel to drop off their luggage.

After getting the room key, Zhang Xiaotian, following behind Lu Bai, suddenly realized that they would be sharing a room. It was different from the dormitory. In the dorm, Zhang Xiaotian worked after class and slept when he got back, leaving no time for overthinking. Besides, they weren’t the only two in the dorm. But now, he didn’t have to work, and these three days and two nights were their real time alone together. Only then did Zhang Xiaotian feel nervous.

So much time had passed, and it wasn’t the first time they’d shared a hotel room.

Zhang Xiaotian began to prepare himself mentally.

“302, this way, Tian’er,” Lu Bai found their room using the key card and gestured for Zhang Xiaotian to come in quickly. Inside was a standard twin room. Zhang Xiaotian put down his backpack and walked into the bathroom to wash his hands. As soon as he turned on the faucet, Lu Bai also walked in.

“This shower stall is quite spacious, isn’t it? Big enough for both of us to shower together?” Lu Bai commented on the shower stall.

What inappropriate things to say, he hadn’t changed at all. Zhang Xiaotian washed his hands, not wanting to engage with him.

“Hey, I’m asking you, why aren’t you responding?” Lu Bai asked.

“Can’t you shower by yourself? Do you need me to shower with you?” Zhang Xiaotian finished washing his hands and was about to turn around when Lu Bai leaned in. He rested one hand on the edge of the sink and the other touched the mirror, effectively trapping Zhang Xiaotian in his embrace.

So close. Zhang Xiaotian instinctively held his breath, his heart suddenly racing. They were so close he could see the details of his eyelashes.

“Didn’t they say if you put your finger on the mirror, you can tell if there’s a hidden camera?” Lu Bai seemed genuinely curious about the mirror. He looked for a long time but couldn’t figure it out, then turned to Zhang Xiaotian. “Can you tell?”

“I, I…” Zhang Xiaotian felt a string in his mind snap, emitting a harsh buzzing sound. He opened his mouth for a long time before finally finding his voice. “I can’t either.”

“Then we won’t look,” Lu Bai smiled at him, stood up straight, and walked out of the bathroom. “Anyway, there’s nothing interesting to see between two guys.”

After Lu Bai left, Zhang Xiaotian let out a heavy sigh.

Can I really keep being friends with him? Zhang Xiaotian touched his still pounding chest. It seems I need to keep my distance from him in the future.

The two cities were not far apart, so the weather and scenery were similar. However, there was a famous rafting spot here, and they decided to start with that.

It was an artificial river channel, with artificially planted forests on both sides. At the starting point was a small dock with many two-person inflatable boats.

“How long does it take from here to the end?” Zhang Xiaotian looked down the river, unable to see the end.

“About half an hour,” the owner pulled over a green inflatable boat and handed them life jackets. “We’ll give you each a paddle later. If the boat drifts, just push it against the wooden stakes on the riverbank.” He then demonstrated the action with a paddle.

It looked quite intimidating, but once they were actually in the boat, Zhang Xiaotian found it quite comfortable. It wasn’t as fast as he imagined, but rather swayed gently, allowing him to look at the trees on both sides. It had rained the day before, and the path was still wet. Everywhere he looked, he saw vibrant green foliage glistening with moisture. In the shallow areas, there was thick silt. The water wasn’t clear, and he didn’t see any fish.

“If I had known it would be this slow, I should have brought my camera,” Lu Bai put the paddle by his feet and asked Zhang Xiaotian, who was opposite him, “What do you think?”

“It’s great, very comfortable,” Zhang Xiaotian stared intently at the trees. “Lu Bai, there’s a bird over there!”

“Where?” Lu Bai followed his gaze but saw nothing. He shifted forward, stretching his neck as far as he could. “Where? I don’t see it.”

“You’re looking too late!” Zhang Xiaotian couldn’t help but laugh at his silly expression, shaking with laughter.

“What are you laughing at?” Lu Bai was still craning his neck. “Are you teasing me? Is there really a bird?”

“Yes, you’ll see it in a bit,” Zhang Xiaotian laughed heartily. “Sit back a bit, or you’ll fall out.”

The inflatable boat drifted downstream with the current. The air around them was moist and fresh. For a moment, the only sounds were their laughter. Zhang Xiaotian straightened up after laughing enough and looked at Lu Bai, who was sitting opposite him. He had thought he would never have the chance to see Lu Bai again, but now they were not only meeting but also roommates, and now they could even travel together. The gap that he thought would remain a regret was now perfectly filled. The feeling was almost dreamlike. Coincidentally, Lu Bai also looked at him, and when their eyes met, it felt like a flame burning, making Zhang Xiaotian’s heart feel warm, and he couldn’t look away.

“Why are you staring at me?” Lu Bai adjusted his hair. “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing,” Zhang Xiaotian finally managed to pull his gaze away from Lu Bai’s face and focused on Lu Bai’s hand holding the paddle. “I was just thinking about that time we said we’d travel together sometime.”

“There will be plenty of opportunities in the future,” Lu Bai nudged the boat towards the shore with his paddle, and it drifted towards the opposite bank. “You should start thinking now about where we’ll go next time.”

“That’s thinking too far ahead.”

“Not too far. Think of two more, and make a list.” Zhang Xiaotian felt Lu Bai’s gaze heavily on him, and his tone carried a hint of promise. “Then we’ll go to one and tick it off… Whoa!”

Suddenly, water from somewhere splashed onto Lu Bai, startling them both. Zhang Xiaotian looked back and saw a child with a water gun, while the adult sitting next to them quickly held the child down and apologized loudly.

“Damn, you scared me! Is this water clean? Now I’m all wet!” Lu Bai wiped his face. “Tian’er, do you have any tissues?”

“I have some here. Here you go,” Zhang Xiaotian took out the tissues he had brought and handed them to him. “And you said you were going to bring your camera.”

“Thank goodness I didn’t,” Lu Bai wiped the water from his face and quickly made a funny face at the naughty child.

“Childish,” Zhang Xiaotian teased him again.

“We should buy a water gun too,” Lu Bai lifted his wet shirt.

“Are you done yet?” Zhang Xiaotian said. “What would you do with a water gun? Want to spray back?”

“I’d buy a water gun,” Lu Bai dusted off his pants, then suddenly scooped up a handful of water and splashed it at Zhang Xiaotian. “Of course, I’d buy a water gun to splash you, hahaha!”

“Hey! Lu Bai!” Zhang Xiaotian only had time to close his eyes before being drenched. “You just said the water wasn’t clean!”

“I’m all wet, I can’t let you stay dry!” Lu Bai splashed him again, his movement a bit bigger, causing the boat to sway.

Zhang Xiaotian no longer bothered to cover his face and quickly grabbed the handles on both sides. “Stop messing around! Lu Bai! We’ll capsize!”

“Tian’er! Quickly turn around!” Lu Bai suddenly sat up straight. “Look over there!”

Zhang Xiaotian instinctively turned his head, and a flash went off. “What?” Zhang Xiaotian hadn’t reacted yet.

“Ah, so it was a camera,” Lu Bai said with a sly grin.

“You were already sitting up straight, you should have told me,” Zhang Xiaotian shot him a glare.

“If I had told you in advance, you wouldn’t have known what expression to make. This is perfect, it’s all about the surprise!” Lu Bai said.

He always talks nonsense. Zhang Xiaotian pouted.

They soon reached the end, where staff members collected their life jackets and inflatable boats.

“We took some beautiful photos of you two midway. There are twenty-one in total. Would you like them?” A woman with a QR code asked.

“No, thank you,” Zhang Xiaotian said. They would surely be ugly.

“Yes, why not? I want two!” Lu Bai immediately paid, and in a short while, he returned with two photos. Zhang Xiaotian took one and saw that they were indeed ugly.

“They’re so ugly, your faces are all distorted. Why did you buy them?” Zhang Xiaotian scolded him. “You really have too much money to spend.”

“To keep as a souvenir, and it’s quite good, hahahaha, I don’t dislike you!” Lu Bai, feeling pleased with himself, carefully put away the photos. “Let’s go, we’ll go somewhere else.”

They strolled around for a while, had lunch at a nearby food stall, and returned to the hotel for a brief rest.

“Tonight, we’ll go to the night market. They say the night market here is also famous,” Lu Bai said, looking at his guide.

“You’re always about food wherever you go,” Zhang Xiaotian said.

“What’s wrong with that? Food is paramount, eating is a big deal!” Lu Bai clicked his tongue. “Besides, my guide isn’t just about food.”

“Then tell me, what else is there?” Zhang Xiaotian propped himself up on the bed, only showing one eye.

“Plenty!” Lu Bai scrolled through his phone. “Tomorrow morning, we’ll visit that historical museum, and in the afternoon, we can go to the zoo.”

“Okay, I’ll take a short nap. We’ll go to the night market tonight.”

Once the excitement of rafting wore off, Zhang Xiaotian felt tired all over. It seemed like he could fall asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

“Sleep, you look exhausted,” Lu Bai’s voice seemed to come from afar. After forcing himself to hear Lu Bai finish speaking, Zhang Xiaotian completely drifted off to sleep.

Zhang Xiaotian slept until it was dark. When he opened his eyes, he wasn’t fully awake. The blanket on him must have been put there by Lu Bai. The room was dark, with only the faint white light of a phone illuminating Lu Bai’s face.

Zhang Xiaotian called out to him, “Lu Bai. You’re awake, why don’t you turn on the light?”

Seeing that he was awake, Lu Bai got up and walked to the switch. “I just woke up too. Close your eyes, I’m going to turn on the light.”

Zhang Xiaotian obediently closed his eyes.

The light was switched on with a “click,” making the darkness outside seem even deeper.

“What time is it?” Zhang Xiaotian asked.

“Eight o’clock,” Lu Bai walked over and sat next to Zhang Xiaotian.

Zhang Xiaotian looked out the window. “Is there still time to go to the night market?”

“Of course, there’s time,” Lu Bai said. “Get ready, and we’ll go downstairs.”