The ripples on the pool's surface were too gentle, tempting Qu Yanting to sink into the water and relax his body and mind. He didn't like being with strangers, and it wasn't convenient, so he had booked the entire place in advance.

He asked again, "What are you yelling about?"

Lu Wen hadn't expected the person who booked the pool to be Qu Yanting. He instantly deflated a little. "I want to swim too."

Having stood in the cold wind for so long at noon for nothing, Qu Yanting felt like kicking Lu Wen into the water. He also wanted to know if Lu Wen had a reasonable explanation.

He said, "Go change."

Inside the swimming pool area, the high, vaulted ceiling was dotted with spotlights. There were three floor-to-ceiling windows, a pool of deep blue water, its surface rippling and shimmering with a glow like crushed silver.

Qu Yanting entered first, walking unhurriedly along the edge of the pool. As he walked, he untied the silk sash at his waist. The robe loosened and slid off, and he tossed it onto a lounge chair with a flick of his hand.

Lu Wen changed into a pair of swimming trunks. Unafraid of the cold, he wore nothing else, not even slippers. He walked in barefoot and, at a glance, saw the crow-blue silk bathrobe.

Qu Yanting was already in the water, gliding through the azure expanse.

Stepping onto the marble poolside, Lu Wen took in the vast swimming pool. He could see Qu Yanting through the water's surface, several dozen meters away, half-submerged, a white figure like light smoke or thin gauze.

Lu Wen vaulted into the water, bracing himself with one arm on the edge. The water was slightly cool, rising to his chest and abdomen. He scooped up a few handfuls of water to splash his shoulders and neck, and after acclimating, he stretched out and began to swim forward.

The only sound in the enormous space was the splashing of water.

Lu Wen and Qu Yanting were very, very far apart. The two of them swam on their own, going back and forth along two straight lines, as if they would never intersect.

Half an hour later, Lu Wen had lost count of how many laps he'd swum. He reached one end and stopped, steadying himself in the water. He wiped his face and shook the water from his short hair like a dog. Resting his elbows on the poolside behind him, he leaned back lazily.

Glancing around, he had to hand it to Qu Yanting.

This buyout was a bit too thorough; not even a single attendant was left to be called upon.

In the distance, the person was unclear, only a splash of water gradually swimming closer. Lu Wen stared without blinking, tapping his fingers one by one on the marble surface, secretly timing. Nine seconds later, the splash reached his end.

'Not bad speed,' he commented silently.

Five or six meters away from Lu Wen horizontally, Qu Yanting broke through the surface of the water.

His body floated gently in the water. The moment he emerged, he lifted his head, sweeping his ink-black hair back. The line from the tip of his chin to his Adam's apple formed a beautiful arc.

Qu Yanting was dripping wet everywhere—his temples, the sides of his hair, his hollow collarbones. Water droplets trickled down his cool, pale skin, refracting the light as if he had just swum through the Milky Way.

Lu Wen's palm was cupped over the edge of the pool, warming the cold marble. He abruptly moved his hand and, with a clatter, knocked against a beverage tray on the poolside.

Hearing the sound, Qu Yanting finally inclined his head. His damp eyes glanced towards Lu Wen, languid and moist.

Flustered, Lu Wen stiffly turned his face away. He looked towards the glass window, pretending to admire the city's nightscape outside, but instead saw their reflections cast upon it.

Qu Yanting started to cough, covering his mouth. The sound was muffled.

There was mineral water on the tray. Lu Wen grabbed a bottle, half-swimming, half-walking towards Qu Yanting. He stopped about half a meter away, loosened the cap, and handed it over.

Qu Yanting took it and sipped, stopping his cough. All around them, even the sound of splashing water had ceased. It was quiet and empty. He watched Lu Wen in silence.

Before three seconds had passed, Lu Wen's skin began to crawl. "What is it?"

His words echoed faintly as Qu Yanting said, "Don't you want to say something?"

Lu Wen raised an eyebrow. Other people did it to look cool; he was genuinely perplexed. What did Qu Yanting mean? Was he supposed to say something?

After pondering for a moment, he found a suitable topic: "Your breaststroke looks good. Do you know butterfly?"

Qu Yanting said, "I do."

Lu Wen tried to liven up the atmosphere. "Wanna race a lap?"

Qu Yanting said, "No."

Lu Wen gave an awkward "Oh." In two sentences, the topic of swimming had reached a dead end. He didn't want to think of a new one; besides, he had a question he was genuinely curious about.

"You..." he began, "why didn't you go to the Group B dinner?"

Qu Yanting replied, "Too many people."

Lu Wen was dismissed with just those simple words. Not knowing if it was true, he asked again, "Why book the whole pool to swim?"

Qu Yanting replied, "Same as above."

Lu Wen said, "Then why did you let me in?"

Qu Yanting sighed helplessly; he was already regretting letting Lu Wen in. With the mineral water still in his hand, he replied, "When my throat's uncomfortable, it's nice to have someone to pass me water."

This conversation really couldn't go on. Lu Wen said, "Fine, fine, you drink. Drink up."

Qu Yanting tightened the cap and placed the mineral water on the poolside. "I don't want mineral water. Go to the water bar and get me a cup of oolong tea."

'Give him an inch and he takes a mile,' Lu Wen frowned. To repay Qu Yanting for helping him with his lines, he nodded in agreement, but to save face, he said, "I was just thinking I wanted some dragon fruit juice, so I'll grab you a tea on the way."

Lu Wen turned, bracing his hands on the edge. Water droplets slid down his slightly arched shoulder blades, and the lean, tough muscle groups on his back became defined.

Behind him, Qu Yanting didn't feel the satisfaction of ordering someone around. Instead, he felt stuffy. As Lu Wen pushed himself out of the water with a splash, he couldn't help but seize the opportunity to ask.

"Did you forget something at noon?"

Lu Wen's movements froze. He hadn't expected Qu Yanting to bring it up.

But how should he answer? Say he hadn't forgotten, that he hadn't stood him up, that he had walked all the way holding a persimmon and stupidly gotten first place in WeChat Steps?

And then, he was intercepted by Ruan Feng.

Qu Yanting asked more directly, "Why did you stand me up?"

Lu Wen took a deep breath and answered, "I overslept at noon."

Afraid Qu Yanting would say more, Lu Wen pushed himself onto the poolside and hurried towards the water bar.

The oolong tea had to be freshly brewed, the dragon fruit juice freshly squeezed. His phone was locked in the changing room. Lu Wen waited dryly, listening to two men at the next table chat about everything from real estate to bonds, and finally to massage parlors.

He finished his juice first, then returned to the pool holding a cup of oolong tea, feeling just like he did when he was carrying the big persimmon to the lake—and both were for Qu Yanting.

More than ten minutes had passed; the matter from noon should have been forgotten by now. Lu Wen called out nonchalantly, searching for Qu Yanting's figure in the echo.

No one answered.

The deep blue surface of the water was still. He fixed his gaze on the center of the pool. Beneath the shimmering light, Qu Yanting was submerged motionless in the water, like a stagnant cloud.

Lu Wen shouted, "Teacher Qu?"

The next moment, he lifted his leg, his heart instantly seizing with panic. "Teacher Qu!"

Lu Wen dropped the oolong tea, sprinted along the poolside, and splash! He rushed forward and dove headfirst into the pool, stroking powerfully with his arms, shouting as he swam, "Teacher Qu! Qu Yanting!"

"You, with the surname Qu!"

Reaching the center, Lu Wen submerged himself and lunged towards Qu Yanting with outstretched arms.

Qu Yanting was holding his breath, his body enveloped by the water from head to toe. The light, weightless sensation allowed his body, which had been tense all day, to completely relax.

Suddenly, he was held up by a pair of large hands, and then a warm, solid body pressed against him. The other person wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him up to the surface.

Qu Yanting squinted his eyes open. The lights were blinding. His cheek was scraped by the short hair at Lu Wen's temples; it was prickly and a little itchy.

He was held tightly in an iron grip and dragged to the side of the pool. Still dizzy and disoriented, his body suddenly felt light as Lu Wen lifted him onto the marble edge.

Afraid he would hit his head lying down, Lu Wen, still in the water, first raised a hand to cradle the back of Qu Yanting's head. It was then that he met Qu Yanting's open, clear eyes.

Lu Wen was scared to death. "You... you're awake?"

Qu Yanting's expression was calm. His calves dangled in the water, his knees resting against Lu Wen's... up was his chest, down were his abs. He nodded, water dripping from his chin.

The hand cradling the back of his head slowly moved away, dropping to grip the edge and enclosing him. After confirming he wouldn't fall, Lu Wen glared at him and asked, "What the hell were you doing all by yourself?"

Qu Yanting said, "I—"

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?!" Lu Wen cut him off mercilessly, shouting.

Forgetting their respective statuses entirely, only remembering the fright he had just received, Lu Wen yelled, "Teacher Qu, Great Screenwriter Qu, do you have any common sense about safety? Where did you learn to swim? Who taught you to just sink to the bottom of the pool motionless by yourself!"

Qu Yanting explained, "I just wanted to relax."

Lu Wen raised his voice. "This isn't how you relax! What if you got a cramp? How would you get up? You'd be sent straight to fucking heaven!"

"And you booked the whole place? Without even leaving a lifeguard!"

"If there was an accident, no one would be here to save you! It's a good thing I came back in time!"

"Fuck, did you send me away on purpose? You could have relaxed anytime, but you just had to wait until no one was around. You can't relax when there are people here, is that it!"

For the first time in his life, Qu Yanting was being furiously scolded by a minor celebrity. His head started to hurt. He said, "Alright, I'm fine."

Lu Wen said menacingly, "What's fine about it!"

Qu Yanting said, "Don't worry."

"Who's worried about you!" Lu Wen exploded again. "I'm angry! Let me tell you, my blood pressure and heart are both bad, and I'm calcium deficient! If you scare me into having a problem... it counts as a work-related injury!"

Qu Yanting was at a loss. Afraid that Lu Wen's continued shouting would attract an attendant, he tentatively reached out and, as if pacifying his own big cat, pressed his hand against Lu Wen's forehead.

"Stop shouting," he said. "Isn't your throat tired?"

Lu Wen was instantly silenced, left only to glare.

It seemed to work. Qu Yanting rubbed his forehead gently and said in a low voice, "Thank you."

Lu Wen's tumultuous emotions came to an abrupt halt. He couldn't say a word. Qu Yanting had said "thank you" to him—the two words he himself had been holding in all day. How had he let the other person say it first?

He didn't know what to do.

Lu Wen ducked his head away, moved two steps to the side, and vaulted onto the poolside. "I'm done swimming."

Qu Yanting was also tired out from the ordeal. He had come to relax, but things had ended up being so intense.

He put on his bathrobe and followed behind. Looking up, his eyes were nearly blinded by Lu Wen's long, straight legs. The smooth line of his neck and shoulders, the faintly bulging veins on his arms, his waist—water droplets caressed every inch of muscle, dripping down to form a trail of water.

The two of them entered their respective changing rooms, showered, and got dressed.

Qu Yanting's hair was slightly longer, so he took more time to dry it. When he came out and walked towards the corridor, Lu Wen's voice grew clearer.

"...The safety hazards here are too great. Under no circumstances should there be no lifeguard. Oh, he said he booked it out? Booking it out isn't clearing it out. You can't just agree to anything because someone's paying..."

The attendant nodded repeatedly. "It was our oversight."

Lu Wen was wrapped in a velvet robe, his hands stuffed into the small embroidered pockets as if they were on his hips. When Qu Yanting approached, he pressed his lips together, pretending he hadn't said a thing.

Qu Yanting played along with the performance. "Let's go."

The two mutes returned to the 62nd floor. There was no communication the entire way; they were both a bit sensitive to each other. Outside their rooms, Qu Yanting habitually glanced at the wall vase. He had developed a habit since that day, unable to resist checking the type of flower each day.

They turned their backs to each other and opened their respective doors.

After swimming in the cool water for so long without a single sip of oolong tea, Qu Yanting's throat started to feel a bit sore and itchy, and he began to cough softly.

Lu Wen, hand on the doorknob, paused and broke the silence. "Wait."

Qu Yanting waited. He saw Lu Wen swipe his card and enter his room, then run out a few seconds later, holding a large, ripe persimmon.

"For me?" Qu Yanting asked.

Lu Wen answered, "My agent's mom said that eating persimmons soothes the lungs and stops coughing."

Qu Yanting caught it. It was heavy, carrying the warmth of the other's palm.

After all the twists and turns, Lu Wen had finally given it to him. That bit of unwillingness stirred up along with it, and he couldn't help but take back his words. "Actually, I didn't stand you up."

Qu Yanting: "Then you..."

Mentioning Ruan Feng would definitely be awkward, so Lu Wen lied, "I got lost in the woods."

Qu Yanting had waited for so long in vain, enough to merit the song lyric "I take the cold wind for you." But hearing Lu Wen's reason, he wasn't as displeased as he'd imagined. He laughed in resignation. "You manage to be foolish in a new way every day."

After laughing, he asked, "What did you want to see me about?"

It was very late. Lu Wen cut to the chase. "You helped me with my lines. I know all about it. I wanted to thank you."

It took Qu Yanting a few seconds to react. For him, the matter was forgotten once it was over; he hadn't taken it to heart at all. He held the persimmon and said, "I like the thank-you gift very much."

After saying "Good night" to each other, Qu Yanting returned to his room, got a spoon, and walked straight to the sofa to sit down.

He pulled off the persimmon's calyx, scooped out a bite, and suddenly stopped.

Eating it alone felt like a bit of a waste. Qu Yanting turned on the projector and found a movie to watch while he ate. As the opening music started, he even knew what credits were rolling by each second, because he had seen it countless times.

The title appeared—the four words "Heaven's Echo" were striking.

Qu Yanting took a bite of the persimmon. Thanks to Lu Wen, this time when he watched, he thought it was sweet.

The author has something to say:

If it weren't for his calcium deficiency, Lu Wen could have grown to be two meters tall. (P.S. Heaven's Echo appeared in Chapter 22.)