The Unforeseen Hide-and-Seek

Qiyu stared blankly at the upstairs. The moment the door clicked shut, he transparently reached for an apple from the fruit basket on the coffee table, clutching it tightly in his hand.

‘How was this so different from what he had imagined?’ he wondered.

His imagination had painted a different scene entirely.

He had envisioned Lu Xingye, upon seeing the message, trembling with rage. Fury would erupt, prompting him to smash everything in the room.

Qiyu would then hear the explosive sound of shattering porcelain. He’d casually stroll over to witness the spectacle, then remark with feigned indifference, “Ah, you’re getting on in years, Brother. Your temper’s growing too. You really ought to rein it in.”

‘My imagination truly isn’t vivid enough,’ he mused. ‘How else could I have failed to predict Lu Xingye’s actual response?’

Not only did Lu Xingye return the clothes and backpack Qiyu had tossed on the floor to his room, but upon seeing the chaotic state of the place, he couldn’t resist tidying it up a bit.

Qiyu’s room possessed a unique, chaotic charm. His pajamas from that morning lay crumpled on the floor.

His desk was completely obscured by open homework notebooks, and numerous plush toys were scattered across the cool-toned carpet.

The moment Lu Xingye opened the door, he found himself with barely any room to step. Caught between advancing and retreating, his fastidious nature ultimately prevailed.

If anyone wondered why the household staff didn’t clean it, it was entirely due to Qiyu’s excessive self-confidence. He had explicitly instructed Wang Ma not to tidy his room, declaring his pursuit of “independence, prosperity, and democracy.”

Wang Ma, though baffled by the whims of the younger generation, respected his wishes. She even casually inquired, “Does cleaning your room have anything to do with socialist core values?”

Qiyu offered a playful wink. “It just sounds a bit more sophisticated that way,” he explained.

Wang Ma simply offered a speechless look.

Lu Xingye, having replied with a cold laugh, started descending the stairs. What greeted him was an unexpected sight: Qiyu was nowhere to be found in the first-floor hall.

‘Utterly childish,’ he thought.

****

At this very moment, Qiyu was tucked away in the storage room, just beside the kitchen on the first floor.

The storage room, rarely opened throughout the year, was thick with fine dust motes swirling in the air. A pervasive, utterly unpleasant musty odor hung heavy everywhere.

Qiyu suffered from allergic rhinitis, a condition he wasn’t sure he’d inherited from his biological parents. Regardless, the airborne dust was almost torturing him to death.

He clutched his nose, while his other hand frantically fanned the air in front of his face, as if hoping to alleviate his symptoms.

‘Honestly, I don’t even know why I’m hiding,’ he thought. ‘Looking back, this behavior seems rather idiotic…’

‘Blame Lu Xingye,’ he decided. ‘That message had looked truly dangerous, making anyone want to bolt and run.’

‘In any case, Lu Xingye won’t be able to find me,’ he reassured himself. ‘He probably thinks I’ve gone back to my room or headed out to play.’

‘Once it’s quiet outside, I absolutely must escape this dreadful place,’ he resolved. ‘My nose can’t take this much longer.’

‘By the way, what exactly did “gently caress” mean?’ he pondered. ‘Was it sarcasm, or something entirely more suggestive?’

‘Considering Lu Xingye’s arrogant personality, he’d probably die before uttering anything genuinely provocative,’ Qiyu scoffed inwardly.

Qiyu heard the descending footsteps echo from the hall. The sound felt as though it were treading directly on his heart, filling him with a mix of tension, panic, and discomfort.

‘If only I hadn’t bolted into this storage room,’ he lamented, ‘I wouldn’t be feeling this way now.’

After all, the thrill of the unknown was truly immeasurable.

The footsteps, at times near and at times distant, finally halted just outside the door.

Qiyu gasped, ‘What?! Nani? Has it only been a minute?’

“What are you hiding here for?” Lu Xingye questioned, yanking the door wide open. Dust instantly swirled into the air, shimmering as it diffused in the sunlight.

Lu Xingye leaned casually against the doorframe, arms crossed. He raised an eyebrow in mild confusion. “Am I going to eat you?” he asked.

Qiyu could only respond with a silent, mortified expression.

Qiyu, still squatting on the ground, looked up at Lu Xingye. “Congratulations,” he declared, “you’ve won our game of hide-and-seek.”

Lu Xingye simply tilted his head, a question mark clearly visible in his expression.

Qiyu shamelessly continued, “As the host of this event, I’ve decided to reward you with a kiss.”

He shot Lu Xingye a flirtatious wink, then lightly tapped his own lips with an index finger. “On the mouth works too,” he added.