On the second night of their trip to Hawaii, Tang Shujie’s engagement party lasted until the wee hours, with a lively beach party that left everyone intoxicated.

Ning Zhiyuan also had his share of drinks but remained surprisingly clear-headed. He woke up early, around seven in the morning, and when he stepped out onto the terrace, he saw Cen Zhisen, his neighbor, also enjoying coffee and the morning scenery. Ning Zhiyuan called out to him.

Hearing Ning Zhiyuan’s voice carried by the early morning sea breeze, Cen Zhisen turned around.

Ning Zhiyuan stood on the adjacent terrace, looking relaxed, and asked with a smile, “Are you going out today?”

Cen Zhisen nodded casually, “Where to?”

“How about the Big Island?” Ning Zhiyuan suggested. “I heard there’s an outdoor concert there tonight. Would you like to go and listen together?”

Cen Zhisen walked over, noticing that Ning Zhiyuan seemed to be in good spirits. “After drinking so much last night, I thought you would sleep until late morning.”

“Not necessarily,” Ning Zhiyuan shook his head slightly. “I haven’t fully adjusted to the time difference.”

“Is your sleep not good?” Cen Zhisen asked. “Do you suffer from insomnia?”

“Not insomnia, but the quality of sleep could be better,” Ning Zhiyuan replied.

As Ning Zhiyuan reached for his coffee, Cen Zhisen turned his wrist, blocking him. “If your sleep quality is not good, don’t drink this.”

“Is it too early for even a sip?” Ning Zhiyuan said helplessly.

“Not even a sip,” Cen Zhisen insisted.

Ning Zhiyuan could only give up, looking at him with a touch of complaint.

Cen Zhisen curved his lips, finding his expression quite rare and cute.

After breakfast, they boarded a plane to the Big Island, and Ning Zhiyuan flipped through a travel guide. “Every time I came to Hawaii before, I liked staying on Oahu Island. It’s lively with lots of people, and I rarely visited the Big Island.”

“Don’t you find the crowds noisy?” Cen Zhisen asked.

“I’m talking about before,” Ning Zhiyuan clarified.

Cen Zhisen seemed to think of something and lingered his gaze on Ning Zhiyuan’s face for a moment.

The party last night was already lively, with not only their friends but also many tourists from the island joining in. Occasionally, girls came to invite them to dance, but they declined. Ning Zhiyuan danced only a couple of times and then stayed off the dance floor, saying it wasn’t interesting.

At that time, they stood behind the crowd, in a dimly lit area, drinking and chatting. Cen Zhisen asked Ning Zhiyuan why he, who used to enjoy nightlife, now found it uninteresting. Ning Zhiyuan looked at the liquid swaying in the glass under the flickering light for a long time before answering, “Too empty.”

Too empty, so he liked lively places.

“Why are you staring at me?” Ning Zhiyuan continued flipping through the guide without looking up, somehow convinced that Cen Zhisen was staring at him.

“You used to like lively places. What about now?” Cen Zhisen asked.

“I said I wanted to cultivate my moral character, so you wouldn’t keep asking me whether I view fun as an enhancer or a life saving straw,” Ning Zhiyuan replied.

“Do you care so much about what I say?” Cen Zhisen asked.

“You’re annoying,” Ning Zhiyuan finally raised his head, giving him a reproachful look. “Ge, we’re on vacation. Can you stop questioning my romantic history and ruin my mood?”

“Alright, my bad,” Cen Zhisen changed his tone. “Let’s not talk about it.”

After arriving on the island, they rented an off-road vehicle for a day of island hopping.

“With only one day to explore the Big Island, we can only skim the surface. We can stay here for the night after the concert and return tomorrow,” Ning Zhiyuan suggested.

“That works,” Cen Zhisen started the car.

In the morning, they visited the Volcanoes National Park, and Ning Zhiyuan, holding Cen Zhisen’s camera, captured moments along the way.

“It’s a pity we came at the wrong time,” he said. “If we came later in the evening, we could see the molten lava.”

“We can come back at night,” Cen Zhisen suggested.

Ning Zhiyuan pointed the lens at him and took a photo.

Outside the car, there were barren landscapes and smoking volcanic craters visible everywhere. In the lens, Cen Zhisen, driving the car with a carefree look, glanced over, dressed in exquisite and expensive attire, with a slightly roguish gaze, resembling an aristocratic young master.

A strange contrast.

Ning Zhiyuan couldn’t help but smile, turning the lens back to the scenery outside the car window.

“You’ve been here before. Why didn’t you take pictures before?” Cen Zhisen asked.

“I never thought about taking pictures. It didn’t occur to me, and it was fun back then,” Ning Zhiyuan replied.

“Fun?” Cen Zhisen inquired.

“Yeah,” Ning Zhiyuan affirmed. “It was quite fun.”

Cen Zhisen took photos of him, and he took photos of Cen Zhisen.

Capturing the scenery while openly photographing a person—how could it not be enjoyable?

For Ning Zhiyuan, capturing every move, every gaze, and every subtle expression of Cen Zhisen through the lens was the most enjoyable thing, surpassing anything else.

As they walked and took photos, around noon, they had lunch in a nearby small town.

After finishing their meal, when Cen Zhisen was paying the bill, Ning Zhiyuan was picking souvenirs in a nearby craft shop. He chose a masquerade mask—a black devil’s image with delicate gold leaf accents around the eyes and some black feathers on both sides for decoration, covering only the eyes and the upper half of the face.

He picked up the mask, put it on, and looked at himself in the mirror.

The devil’s mask, dangerous yet enticing, with eyes behind it appearing especially profound, staring at the person in the mirror.

The person in the mirror was also staring back.

Who are you?

This thought emerged in his mind, but there was no answer.

After a while, Ning Zhiyuan closed his eyes lightly and took off the mask.

Rubbing the mask in his hand for a moment, as his thoughts became more unsettled, someone approached and greeted him. It was a young blonde man, calling him by an English name he hadn’t used in a long time.

Ning Zhiyuan looked at the person, momentarily stunned before remembering who he was.

When Cen Zhisen came over, Ning Zhiyuan leaned against the wooden door of the craft shop, chatting with someone on the street.

Cen Zhisen glanced at the person he was talking to—a typical white man with deep eye sockets, slightly high cheekbones, and a few freckles on his face. He looked decent.

However, the way the man looked at Ning Zhiyuan didn’t seem like a typical male friend’s gaze. To describe it, it seemed more like one of Ning Zhiyuan’s “old friends with benefits.”

The man took out his phone to exchange contact information with Ning Zhiyuan, inviting him for a drink and a chat later in the evening. Ning Zhiyuan declined, pointing to Cen Zhisen and saying, “Sorry, I already have plans.”

The man’s gaze shifted to Cen Zhisen, looking him up and down, from his face to his body. Finally, he whistled and said to Ning Zhiyuan, “I didn’t expect your taste to change. But…”

He gave a thumbs-up, as if praising Ning Zhiyuan’s taste.

Ning Zhiyuan still smiled, shrugged his shoulders.

The man didn’t linger, leaving in a carefree manner.

When Cen Zhisen approached, there was a hint of suspicion and some subtle emotions in his eyes as he looked at Ning Zhiyuan.

“Explain,” he demanded.

Ning Zhiyuan pretended to be innocent. “Explain what?”

“That guy just now,” Cen Zhisen asked, “who is he?”

“A classmate,” Ning Zhiyuan said without a trace of guilt. “But we’re not very familiar; we haven’t been in touch for many years.”

“Just that?” Cen Zhisen questioned.

“Just that,” Ning Zhiyuan affirmed.

Cen Zhisen narrowed his eyes, looking at him, as if trying to gauge the credibility of his words.

Ning Zhiyuan returned the gaze with a calm and even innocent expression.

It was always like this. Every time they clashed, Cen Zhisen felt that Ning Zhiyuan was unpredictable. He used to think his younger brother was just troublesome, not difficult to handle. He was completely wrong.

After a moment, Cen Zhisen grabbed Ning Zhiyuan’s wrist and said, “Come with me,” leading him away.

Ning Zhiyuan didn’t resist, allowing him to pull him to a spot behind a nearby wall.

Overgrown vines and wild tropical plants blocked the view from outsiders. Cen Zhisen pushed Ning Zhiyuan against the wall. “Tell the truth.”

Ning Zhiyuan’s back was a bit sore from the wall, feeling a bit annoyed. “Since you’ve already guessed, why ask?”

“That guy just now, an old friend with benefits?” Even though he had guessed, Cen Zhisen’s tone still seemed uncertain, as if he himself didn’t know what kind of answer he wanted from Ning Zhiyuan. “A man?”

“Yes, a man,” Ning Zhiyuan said, looking into Cen Zhisen’s eyes. “My old friend with benefits.”

“You’re bisexual?” Cen Zhisen frowned.

Ning Zhiyuan sneered, “Except for the naturally inclined, a person’s orientation is not that fixed. I was just curious, so I gave it a try, but it wasn’t interesting. Stiff, smelly men—how can they compare to comfortable hugs with women.”

“Why were you curious about this? Is it because of emptiness?” Cen Zhisen asked.

Ning Zhiyuan fell silent for a moment.

Curiosity arose because he had learned about Cen Zhisen’s sexual orientation. Confused and perplexed, he even considered Cen Zhisen to be somewhat abnormal. However, pursuing Cen Zhisen had already become a deep-rooted habit for him. Even though he saw it as a vice, he wanted to give it a try.

The man, or the guy who was roughly his age at the time, was a fellow student in a different major at the same school. They met at a party, and the guy approached him, showing a warm and bold interest. The enthusiastic guy made no effort to hide his interest, constantly searching for topics to strike up a conversation with him.

Looking at the bright eyes of the other person, he had wondered if Cen Zhisen liked such young guys. What was so good about it.

So, when the guy hinted at something ambiguous, he chose to accept it and left the party with him midway.

It indeed didn’t mean much, and the taste wasn’t particularly good or bad. It wasn’t worth reminiscing later.

In the following years, he occasionally dated men, always initiated by the other party. If he found them pleasing, he would give it a try. He didn’t really care about such things.

“If you really want to know,” Ning Zhiyuan self-deprecatingly said, “it’s because my brother likes men. I compete with him in everything, even in this aspect, I don’t want to lose to him.”

Cen Zhisen reached out and rubbed his neck, making him look at him. “So was it a lie when you said it was your first time kissing a man?”

Ning Zhiyuan: “It was true.”

He insisted that his sexual orientation was straight because, aside from seeking physical pleasure, he had no interest in other intimate activities with men.

Except for Cen Zhisen.

Cen Zhisen asked, “Never kissed, but been intimate. Last time you rejected me, claiming you’re straight. Was that a lie?”

Ning Zhiyuan turned his head, the place where Cen Zhisen had rubbed feeling ticklish. “I already said, I found it uninteresting. You asked me to taste the flavor of men, but I’ve already tried it and didn’t find much interest.”

Cen Zhisen raised his thumb and pressed it a few times on the soft flesh behind his ear, staring at the red mole below. He lowered his voice, “you’ve really tried it? Were you always the top with them? Interested in trying the bottom?”

Ning Zhiyuan was ticklish, struggling to speak, “Ge, it’s really ticklish.”

He cast a reproachful look at Cen Zhisen, who withdrew his hand, but his gaze was more aggressive than before. “Want to try?” Cen Zhisen asked.

“Do you just want to get me into bed?” Ning Zhiyuan questioned him. “What’s the reason?”

Cen Zhisen replied, “Do you ask these questions before getting into bed with others?”

Ning Zhiyuan said, “It’s different. You’re my brother, and you’re also my benefactor. I have to think it over. Otherwise, it’ll be awkward when we interact later.”

“If you must know the reason,” Cen Zhisen said, “I am indeed attracted to you, so I want to get into bed with you. Very much so.”

His gaze was open and revealed his desire without reservation.

Ning Zhiyuan chuckled, “Yesterday, you said we could take it slow, no rush. Have you changed your mind now?”

“I have,” Cen Zhisen didn’t deny it. “Before today, I didn’t know that it was possible for a man to be with you.”

Suddenly, Ning Zhiyuan regretted it a bit. Cen Zhisen knew too much about his past romantic affairs, and he seemed to have become too passive. “If I sleep with you, Dad will be furious, won’t he?”

“Even in our current situation, Dad would be furious if he found out,” Cen Zhisen reminded him.

“Then, be more restrained,” Ning Zhiyuan said, lifting his finger to tap on Cen Zhisen’s shoulder. “Stop these things and be a proper good brother.”

“I can’t do that,” Cen Zhisen no longer wanted to hide his feelings. “Zhiyuan, I am indeed a jerk. I wasn’t a good brother before, and it’s even less possible now. If you only want this, I’m sorry, I can’t do it.”

He was sincere. In front of Ning Zhiyuan, he didn’t want to be a meaningless brother anymore.

The smile at the corner of Ning Zhiyuan’s mouth faded a bit. “Do I have to agree?”

“Up to you,” Cen Zhisen replied.

Ning Zhiyuan fell silent, looking down at the elongated shadows on the ground, cast by him and Cen Zhisen under the sunlight. They stood close, and the shadows seemed to be embracing, appearing intimately connected, reminiscent of the games they played together when they were much younger.

When they shook hands, the shadows shook hands; when they hugged each other, the shadows on the ground also embraced.

But Ning Zhiyuan didn’t like this game, especially when Cen Zhisen stood in front of him, completely covering him, and he could no longer see his own shadow, only Cen Zhisen’s, as if all traces of his existence had been erased.

So he could only strive to chase after this person, gradually molding himself into the shadow of Cen Zhisen.

But now, this person finally turned around to look at him, and unexpectedly, he harbored these thoughts.

Well then.

If this was the only way to stand side by side with Cen Zhisen, he didn’t mind.

“Let’s make a bet,” Ning Zhiyuan said.

Cen Zhisen asked, “What are we betting on?”

Ning Zhiyuan looked up at him and said, “If, within twelve hours, you can make me want to be with you, I’ll agree.”