Snow Tonight

Zhu Zhihe has been in a bad mood lately.

After wandering the human world for thousands of years, the last thing he wanted was to run into someone from his past, especially Tan Yuan.

At the academic affairs office, Teacher Cao handed Zhu Zhihe the file bearing Tan Yuan's name and said earnestly, "You'll be classmates from now on, so get along well."

Zhu Zhihe fell silent.

Whoever was in charge of the Book of Fate on Mount Yujing these days was truly treating him, no, not at all, kindly.

But why would the mighty High God Beizhen come down to the mortal world just to experience the life of a modern high schooler, from six in the morning to ten at night?

Could it be that he'd changed his mind and still planned to make him vanish into dust?

Zhu Zhihe instinctively took two steps away from Tan Yuan.

Fine. If he couldn't win, couldn't he at least run?

His phone buzzed twice in his pocket. He took it out and glanced at the screen. A new post had appeared on the Snow City Life Forum, also known as the Snow City Horror Story Club.

He turned off the screen. The sky was clear and the breeze was gentle: a good day for ghost hunting.

*

Tan Yuan looked at the familiar person before him, and for a moment, he forgot to breathe.

Before he could get the word "wife" out, the person opposite him picked something up and turned to leave.

As if they had never known each other.

The scars from ninety million years ago were still carved into him, and now his wife was pretending not to know him.

Tan Yuan forced down the bloody taste rising in his throat and tried to strike up a conversation. "Have we met somewhere before?"

Zhu Zhihe: "No."

Tan Yuan raised an eyebrow.

Never met?

Ninety million years ago, we carved words into a stone and made a vow before the Heavenly Dao. We were soulmates in name and in truth. Even if you died, I would follow you to the underworld and reincarnate alongside you.

Wife, you'll never get rid of me, not in this life or the next.

Tan Yuan composed himself, put on a wounded expression, and said, "I'm Tan Yuan."

Your husband.

A cold-faced, adorable, gorgeous, tragic bottom who strives for one thing above all: to live & a shamelessly affectionate top who falls in love with his own imagined version of things and is so narcissistic he could faint from admiring himself in the mirror

Reader's Guide:

Fantasy setting, alternate history, and countless authorial liberties. Please don't read if that bothers you!

Modern high schoolers solve paranormal mysteries.

The top is strong, but the bottom is stronger.

Everything is fictional. Please, please, please don't apply it to real life. Have faith in materialism.

Once the story begins, updates will follow the rankings. If it doesn't make the rankings, updates will come every other day. Any missed updates will be made up. I will never abandon the story.

The main story is complete. Below is the blurb for an upcoming story.

Tao Anzhi was being cyberbullied.

On the third anniversary of the disbandment of Zeuxis, the limited-time group he had debuted in as its center, an exposé shot to the top of Weibo's trending list.

#Tao Anzhi plagiarized#

Early the next morning, when the phone rang again, Tao Anzhi was standing at the boarding gate with his suitcase.

"You little menace, do you actually have evidence or not?"

"I do." Tao Anzhi handed over his ticket.

"Then send it to me! Do you even want to stay in show business?" his manager shouted sharply through the phone.

The airport announcement came on before Tao Anzhi could reply. The caller fell silent for two seconds, then erupted into an even louder shriek.

"Where are you going?!"

Tao Anzhi silently held the phone farther away, then said in despair, "That's it. I'm quitting."

The call ended.

Tao Anzhi smiled sweetly at the people nearby who were looking at him sideways. He glanced down at his ticket, for the window seat he'd booked at the last minute.

The world is so vast. Let the long wind wash away all this love and hate.

What a damn company. What a damn friendship. Let it all disappear for good!

-

In Xining, Tao Anzhi was trying to flag down a car by the roadside, dragging a suitcase with one broken wheel. Distracted for a moment, he was caught by a sudden, violent gust of wind. Before he could react, someone had swept him into their arms.

A clear plastic bag hit the ground, and several bottles of water rolled out.

A car that had already begun to warp slammed into the pillar he'd been leaning against just moments before.

"..." Tao Anzhi was stunned.

"Are you all right?"

Tao Anzhi looked up. Backlit, the man crouched slightly to look at him, then held out a bottle of cold water and said gently, "Sorry for picking you up without asking. Would you like some water?"

Tao Anzhi took a deep breath at the sight of his face, then accepted the bottle with flushed fingertips.

"Thank you."

*

Yan Jianshan had come to Xining at the request of his mother's friend to find the "younger brother" he hadn't seen in many years.

Fortunately, he was already in Gansu when he got the message. Otherwise, even with wings, he might not have caught the slippery Tao Anzhi.

Though he had lived abroad for years, he'd heard of his "younger brother": a singer famous throughout the country, and a fool who'd given up the family business.

Yan Jianshan couldn't agree with that assessment.

Years ago, he'd happened to attend one of Tao Anzhi's concerts. Beneath a glittering sea of lights, Tao Anzhi had been moved to tears in front of his fans.

A true gentleman is content in poverty and knows his fate. Tao Anzhi had done that well.

He broke his promise and spent a long time traveling around Qinghai with Tao Anzhi. He thought it was just a big brother looking after his little brother.

Nothing more.

Until...

"Have you ever read a book called Prayers of the Mountains? It says..."

Tao Fangzhi turned around, holding his left hand flat in front of his chest, palm facing down, and his right hand beneath it, palm facing up. Slowly, he brought his hands together.

"The sky and the earth are two enormous palms joined in prayer.

All of us within them are blessed."

He raised his hands to his face, hiding most of it. A second later, he parted his hands, revealing eyes that always shone as they looked at others.

"We are in the mountains. We are being blessed."

Yan Jianshan turned his face away.

No one could fail to love the sun.

"I was thinkin' maybe we should"

Talented, popular singer, little-sunshine bottom & mixed-race gentleman photographer, iceberg top

Reader's Guide

1. The two are not related by blood at all. Their mothers are close friends, so they call each other "big brother" and "little brother."

2. They both love each other. The top falls first, but they are each other's only partners, both emotionally and physically. Not suitable for readers with extreme character preferences. No switching, no reversal!

3. A fictional story, with no real-life inspiration.

4. The bottom has already transitioned to a different career when they start dating. He doesn't date as an idol.

Theme: Cherish the present