Iceland’s roads were somewhat uneven. At first, Jiang Yuanye thought it was intentionally designed that way to slow down vehicles, but Lucas later explained that it was actually caused by years of heavy SUVs rolling over them repeatedly.
“For example, the super jeep I saw the other day it must have weighed at least two tons. No wonder the roads are full of dents,” Lucas said matter-of-factly.
“Doesn’t the local government reinforce the roadbed or level the surface?” Jiang Yuanye asked.
Lucas turned the steering wheel and replied, “They do, but they only repave the roads every two or three years. It’s not like where you’re from. I remember when I was studying abroad, the pedestrian walkway in front of my apartment building was dug up and repaved every single year.”
Zhou Chaosheng listened to their conversation, his gaze wandering aimlessly to the sky outside, lingering on the soft, tranquil hues of the blue hour.
Perhaps after spending years in a city of towering concrete and steel, surrounded by extravagance and noise, with his ears constantly filled with sound and barely a moment to breathe, now, being away from the city—on an island closest to the Arctic—his heart felt an unfamiliar sense of peace and calm.
They were staying at the Skuggi Hotel, located at Hverfisgata 103 in the heart of Reykjavík. The location was excellent, with convenient transportation and close proximity to many famous attractions. Whether they wanted to find good food or explore local culture, it was all easily accessible.
Before joining the tour, Jiang Yuanye had carefully reviewed the contract provided by the travel agency. He had cross-checked every listed hotel and paid attraction on various travel apps, reading through the reviews one by one.
This hotel had a 4.5-star rating on Mafengwo, making it one of the higher-rated accommodations for tourists.
“Icelandic hotels tend to be a bit small, so, Young Master, you’ll just have to bear with it for a few days.” After collecting the room keys, Jiang Yuanye joked with Zhou Chaosheng.
Zhou Chaosheng couldn’t be bothered to respond. Just as he was about to look away, his gaze landed on the single room key in Jiang Yuanye’s hand, making him ask, “We’re sharing a room?”
“Mm-hmm, only standard rooms were available. You’ll have to squeeze in with me.”
Zhou Chaosheng remained silent for a while, suspecting Jiang Yuanye was lying. But he had no proof. He couldn’t just go to the front desk to verify it, doing so would make it seem like he cared too much.
Most hotels in Iceland didn’t have elevators. Jiang Yuanye and Zhou Chaosheng carried their luggage up the stairs to the third floor, found their room number, and swiped the keycard to enter.
The interior design was surprisingly close to Zhou Chaosheng’s preference for minimalism. The room followed a black, gray, and white color scheme, with light gray walls and ceilings that gave it a sleek and sophisticated aesthetic.
Zhou Chaosheng was fairly satisfied except for one detail: the two single beds were pushed together.
Technically, there was a tiny gap between them, but it was barely noticeable. Each side had a bedside lamp mounted on the wall, and the beds were fixed in place, preventing them from being moved apart.
Most importantly, the beds were so small that if two adults lay down, they would have to keep their arms and legs tucked in to fit.
Zhou Chaosheng turned to look at Jiang Yuanye, only to see the latter shrug innocently. His tone was helpless as he said, “No other rooms available, so this is it. Unless… you want to take the couch, and I’ll take the bed?”
Zhou Chaosheng: “…”
He seriously suspected Jiang Yuanye had planned this.
At first, he had considered sleeping on the couch. But now that Jiang Yuanye had phrased it like that, he suddenly didn’t want to. Why should he be the one to sleep on the couch while Jiang Yuanye got the entire bed to himself?
“I don’t want to sleep on the couch,” Zhou Chaosheng stated bluntly.
Jiang Yuanye’s eyes curved slightly. “Alright, then we’ll sleep together.”
“…” Zhou Chaosheng fell silent.
Icelandic hotels were not only small in bed size but also in overall space. As soon as they entered, the bed was right there. Opposite the bed was a small bathroom and a wall-mounted TV.
Zhou Chaosheng dragged his suitcase to the most spacious spot available, crouched down, and ran his fingertips lightly over the combination lock.
Just then,
“Is your password my birthday?”
Jiang Yuanye suddenly leaned in behind him, bending slightly, his head close to Zhou Chaosheng’s ear as he chuckled softly.
"That’s impossible just by thinking about it."
Zhou Chaosheng expressionlessly adjusted the password to "0428." With a click, the suitcase opened.
"Step back a little."
The space was too cramped, making it difficult to fully lay out the suitcase.
Jiang Yuanye obeyed and took two steps back. When he leaned against the wall, he crossed his arms and said slowly, "This password isn’t my birthday, nor is it yours." He chuckled lightly and joked, "Could it be the birthday of a girl you like?"
Out of everything he said, Zhou Chaosheng only focused on the first part: "How do you know… my birthday?"
He quickly stopped himself and rephrased, "Jiang Yuanye, what do you mean?"
When Jiang Yuanye heard his first sentence, his expression changed slightly, but he quickly forced a smile and asked in return, "How do I know… you like girls?"
At that moment, Zhou Chaosheng found Jiang Yuanye strange.
A kind of indescribable strangeness.
Clearly, it was Jiang Yuanye who first made a flippant joke at his expense. Zhou Chaosheng hadn’t even taken it seriously, yet the other party was the one who overreacted, pressing the issue and making wild guesses.
He lifted his gaze, meeting Jiang Yuanye’s lowered eyes, which were locked onto him with a gaze full of aggression. The emotion in his eyes was like thick ink that refused to dissolve, making it impossible to decipher.
It wasn’t just aggression—there was also a hint of questioning in that look, something Zhou Chaosheng disliked.
"In your eyes, am I that worthless?"
"...I never said that."
"If you didn’t think so, you wouldn’t have asked me that question."
Zhou Chaosheng crouched for a long time, and his legs started to go numb. As he stood up, he instinctively frowned and asked, "Jiang Yuanye, are we really a couple?"
Jiang Yuanye’s face changed dramatically, but he quickly returned to his usual composure, as if that brief moment of loss was just Zhou Chaosheng’s imagination.
"Why do you keep asking me that question? I remember answering it many times already." Jiang Yuanye put on his fake smile again and said in an exaggeratedly light tone, "We are really a couple, Chaosheng."
That last "Chaosheng" sounded as if he was emphasizing something.
If he truly had amnesia, he might have been swayed by those words, hesitating and slowly believing in Jiang Yuanye through his sweet words.
But he didn’t.
Not only did he not have amnesia, but from beginning to end, he had been watching Jiang Yuanye’s flawed, exaggerated act.
Even now, it was the same.
Zhou Chaosheng felt disappointed, an inexplicable kind of disappointment. This feeling made him want to book the next available flight and leave Iceland immediately, returning home.
"If what you say is true, then why would you suspect that I like girls?"
Zhou Chaosheng slowly straightened up and stepped closer. With his three-centimeter height advantage and the confined space, Jiang Yuanye was practically trapped against the wall, unable to escape.
"...You're too close."
Jiang Yuanye’s voice sounded flustered.
Zhou Chaosheng pressed his left hand against the wall, lowered his gaze, and watched Jiang Yuanye’s long eyelashes tremble. He felt a hint of mockery rise in his heart.
He had thought that after everything that had happened, Jiang Yuanye’s hostility toward him might have lessened—not enough to become friends, but at least not as antagonistic as before.
That was what he had thought.
He had even foolishly believed that this trip was Jiang Yuanye’s way of coming clean, which was why he had invited him along.
But he never expected,
That wasn’t the case at all.
The other party was still lying to him.
Zhou Chaosheng unconsciously clenched his fist against the wall.
How much longer did Jiang Yuanye plan to lie?
How much longer before he felt satisfied,
Before this ridiculous act came to an end?
It felt like he was trapped in a vortex of contradictions, lost in a void, suspended midair, on the verge of falling.
"...Jiang Yuanye."
Zhou Chaosheng took a step back, lowering his eyes.
"You don’t understand me at all."
With that, he turned, ready to leave. He wanted to get out of this suffocating room—at this moment, even a second longer with Jiang Yuanye was unbearable.
"Wait, don’t go."
His wrist was suddenly grabbed.
Zhou Chaosheng’s face remained taut, refusing to turn back.
"I was wrong…" Jiang Yuanye’s voice behind him was quiet.
Zhou Chaosheng pressed his lips together but remained silent.
"I wasn’t doubting you. I just… just…" Jiang Yuanye stammered.
"Just what?"
"Just…" Jiang Yuanye hesitated, seemingly going through some internal struggle. When he finally spoke again, his tone carried an almost desperate recklessness.
"…Just that I’m afraid you’ll fall for someone else."
Zhou Chaosheng was stunned for a moment.
He never expected this answer.
Jiang Yuanye actually…
Worried—worried that he would fall for someone else?
“…What did you say?” Zhou Chaosheng asked uncertainly.
Jiang Yuanye, knowing Zhou Chaosheng couldn’t see his embarrassment, threw caution to the wind and said, “I said, I’m afraid that one day you won’t like me anymore and will fall for someone else instead…”
Zhou Chaosheng’s expression darkened upon realizing what he meant. This had to be another one of Jiang Yuanye’s tricks.
After all, this wasn’t the first or second time. This person was always saying ambiguous things to make him misunderstand.
“…I won’t.”
He slowly turned around. By the time he faced Jiang Yuanye again, the coldness in his eyes had gradually faded, leaving only an insincere pretense.
"If, back in our senior year of high school, I had chosen to be with you and if that relationship had lasted all these years then I wouldn’t suddenly fall for someone else."
Jiang Yuanye froze for a moment.
“…Alright.”
Zhou Chaosheng walked past him, unwilling to dwell on the topic. “Did you bring disposable bed sheets?”
He crouched down by his suitcase, taking out his toiletries and a change of clothes. When he turned his head, he saw Jiang Yuanye still standing motionless, like a scarecrow rooted to the ground.
“What are you standing there for? Waiting for me to make the bed for you?”
Jiang Yuanye snapped out of it. “You don’t even know my suitcase’s password.”
Zhou Chaosheng placed his clothes by the bed and casually said, “Your birthday?”
“No.” Jiang Yuanye didn’t make him guess and answered directly, “It’s your birthday.”
Zhou Chaosheng’s hand paused. “…When did you set it?”
“Two weeks ago, when I bought the suitcase,” Jiang Yuanye replied.
Zhou Chaosheng let out an “Oh” and continued organizing his suitcase.
Even though he had already gathered everything he needed, his hands kept mechanically shifting things—folding clothes, stacking them, rearranging the neatly placed electronics and equipment at the bottom, disrupting their previous order.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yuanye, seemingly affected by something, fell silent after speaking. He turned to organize his own suitcase, completely missing the strange way Zhou Chaosheng was moving.
---
At 1:30 a.m., the two of them finished washing up and getting dressed, then got into bed one after the other.
Zhou Chaosheng slept on the side near the window, while Jiang Yuanye slept on the side closer to the door.
They sat facing each other for a few seconds, then tacitly lifted the blanket and wrapped themselves in it.
Zhou Chaosheng was the first to turn over, facing the window and the wall.
“…Are you avoiding me?” Jiang Yuanye’s voice came from behind.
Zhou Chaosheng reached out to turn off the bedside lamp on his side and said indifferently, “No, I just like sleeping this way.”
“But you used to sleep holding me,” Jiang Yuanye said with a smile.
Under the blanket, Zhou Chaosheng’s hand clenched and loosened.
He knew it…
Everything Jiang Yuanye did today was just to make him feel disgusted in the future.
“…I’m tired.”
“Alright. Goodnight.”
Jiang Yuanye reached out and turned off all the lights.
As the lights went out, Zhou Chaosheng’s heart instantly sank to the bottom.
This was not a good sign.
They say that meeting someone at the right time means something good will happen next…
Lies. All of it was lies.
Including Jiang Yuanye.
---
The next day, Zhou Chaosheng's biological clock woke him up on time.
Slowly opening his eyes, he stared blankly at the gray wall in front of him for a few seconds before sitting up. The blanket slid off his body, and he could still faintly feel the lingering chill in the air.
Although the hotel's floor heating was sufficient, it couldn’t withstand Iceland's cold. Even the window was covered with a thin layer of condensation.
He turned his head and saw Jiang Yuanye sleeping with his back facing him.
He let out a quiet sneer.
Talking about avoiding, talking about hugging.. yet in the end, wasn’t his body just as honest, turning away in his sleep?
Holding onto this bit of irritation, Zhou Chaosheng’s way of waking Jiang Yuanye up wasn’t exactly gentle, one could even say it was rough.
He lifted the other's blanket with his hand, then reached out and pushed him. “Wake up.”
Jiang Yuanye let out a sleepy hum, instinctively raising his hand to block Zhou Chaosheng’s. As his arm brushed against Zhou Chaosheng’s shoulder, the moment their skin touched, Zhou Chaosheng seemed to feel a faint, tingling current at the point of contact.
A little itchy, a little numb.
Seeing Jiang Yuanye turn over to face him yet still not opening his eyes, Zhou Chaosheng let out a light sigh.
Forget it.
If he wouldn’t wake up, then so be it.
He first pulled the blanket back over Jiang Yuanye, then leaned over to grab his phone from the windowsill. Leaning against the headboard, he turned the volume to silent and started playing on his phone.
He didn’t know how long he had been playing PUBG when Jiang Yuanye’s alarm suddenly rang. In the quiet room, the chime of the alarm was particularly jarring.
“...Mmh…”
Jiang Yuanye half-opened his eyes, stretched lazily, then looked at Zhou Chaosheng, who was still playing games, appearing somewhat surprised.
“You woke up this early?”
Zhou Chaosheng didn’t lift his head. “Mm.”
“What time did you wake up?” Jiang Yuanye asked.
“An hour ago.”
Jiang Yuanye raised an eyebrow. “So you’ve been playing on your phone this whole time?”
Zhou Chaosheng was growing irritable. A wrong move caused him to get headshot by an 8x scope sniper, and he instantly lost the game. He lifted his gaze slightly to the person who wouldn't stop asking questions.
“What, should I have woken you up to play with me instead?”
Jiang Yuanye smacked his5 thigh. “That’s exactly what you should’ve done!”
“...You wouldn’t have gotten up.”
Jiang Yuanye refused to accept that. “Who says? As long as you wake me up, I’ll definitely get up.”
Zhou Chaosheng couldn’t be bothered to argue about this. He lifted the blanket, put on his slippers, and walked toward the bathroom.
Jiang Yuanye watched his retreating figure, a complicated emotion flickering in his eyes.
---
The two finished washing up and contacted the tour guide, arranging to meet on the first floor of the hotel.
They took the stairs down, and as they were about to reach the lobby, a young woman's voice reached their ears.
"The geothermal water here smells so strong, and even the bed has an odor. Tour guide, can we change hotels? I can pay extra. The price is negotiable it's just that I really can’t stand the smell..."
The tour guide seemed a bit troubled. "It’s not that I don’t want to switch for you, but all the nearby hotels are fully booked. Only this one has available beds. If it really doesn’t work for you, I can check with the front desk to see if there’s another room available?"
"Manman, why not just endure it? We’re only staying here for one more night," a male voice tried to persuade her.
Others around her also chimed in to persuade her, and in the end, Manman reluctantly agreed.
After settling things, Fang Yi was about to ask the tour guide when the last two people would arrive when his gaze suddenly landed on the staircase behind the guide.
Two people were walking down the stairs side by side, their outstanding physiques and striking features making them impossible to ignore.
Fang Yi felt that one of them looked somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before. When his mind flashed back to a recent video he had seen on Douyin and the news, he thought it was impossible.
Someone of that level how could they possibly be on the same group tour as them?
"I—holy shit!!!"
The chubby man beside him suddenly shouted.
"Zhou—President Zhou?! It’s him, right?! I’m not seeing things, am I?! Holy crap, you guys, look!!!"
Everyone was startled and immediately turned their heads to look.