In the middle of the night, a gunshot jolted Fang Li awake. The sharp sound echoed through the stillness of the mountain night. Fang Li sat bolt upright—something must’ve happened between Qin Weidong’s group and the ore thieves!
He didn’t even bother putting on clothes. He leaped out of bed and rushed to the door, but it was locked from the outside. No matter how hard he pushed, it wouldn’t budge. His heart pounded with panic.
The thieves had been especially aggressive lately, working with smugglers from the village below and always striking in the dead of night. Just before the holiday, a miner had even died in a scuffle at a neighboring mine.
Terrified that something had happened to Qin Weidong, and not wanting to wake his sleeping grandmother, Fang Li grabbed a stool and climbed out the window.
The sound of the gunshot faded into the darkness. Before long, a pickup truck with its headlights on came rumbling down from the mountain. The beams cut through the snowy fog of the night, and Qin Weidong stepped out of the vehicle.
“Fang Li?”
“Qin Weidong…!”
It was the middle of the night, and Fang Li had just managed to swing one leg out the window, still half-stuck. Qin Weidong shoved the car keys into his pocket, quickly stepped forward, and helped him down from the windowsill.
Fang Li threw himself into his arms. “Why did you lock the door?! You scared me half to death! Was it the ore thieves? Did they come to our mine?!” His voice trembled with panic, a hint of tears in his throat.
Qin Weidong had rushed back for this very reason—worried Fang Li would be frightened. He patted his back gently. “It’s alright now. Five or six of them came, but Uncle Pan and I spotted them and drove them off. They won’t come back again tonight.”
Fang Li breathed a little easier. If Qin Weidong said it was fine, he believed him completely. “You didn’t get hurt, did you?”
Qin Weidong shook his head and picked Fang Li up, carrying him back into the house. “Uncle Pan took a fall, but the rest of the crew’s fine. The thieves dropped two sacks of ore and ran. But you—why the hell were you climbing out the window?”
Fang Li ignored him and just clung tightly to his jacket. The leather was still coated with frost from the mountain air, cold and stiff to the touch.
Qin Weidong took off the icy coat, revealing a thick sweater underneath for Fang Li to hold onto instead. Then he grabbed a quilted jacket from the bed and tried to wrap it around Fang Li, who was still in thin sleepwear.
But Fang Li pushed it away and punched him in the chest. “You’re unbelievable! Why did you lock the door?! I couldn’t get out! I almost broke it down trying!”
“There’ve been reports that some ore thieves are carrying shotguns now. The guys hauling ore said the mines to the south have been getting hit too. If anything happened, we’d handle it. I just didn’t want you running around if you heard gunfire—it’d be even harder to deal with if you got caught up in it.”
“So I’m just a burden now? And you don’t even realize how worried I was about you!” Fang Li grumbled, curled in Qin Weidong’s arms. “Qin Weidong, you’re heartless! I’m the older brother, you’re the younger one—eldest brothers are like fathers! You’re supposed to respect me and listen to what I say, you know?! You’ve gotten more and more disrespectful these past two years!”
Qin Weidong ignored him. That only made Fang Li angrier—he reached out and tugged at Qin Weidong’s hair. “Did you hear me?! Or do you have donkey hair stuffed in your ears?! I said you’ve been more and more disrespectful!”
Qin Weidong’s head tilted with the pull, but he calmly asked, “So how exactly should I show you respect?”
Fang Li was stumped. He had no answer. Right—what would it even mean for Qin Weidong to “respect” him?
He sulked for a moment, couldn’t come up with anything, and finally pulled rank: “…I don’t know yet! But—! But you’re not allowed to lock my door again!” His voice trailed off at the end because he spotted the shoe he’d lost while climbing out the window. It lay all by itself on the floor—pathetic. What a total embarrassment.
“No,” Qin Weidong said firmly. He grabbed Fang Li’s hand to examine it. The iron bars on the old window were rusty—if he got cut, he’d have to go all the way to the county hospital for a shot.
“Why not?!” Fang Li stared at him, incredulous.
Qin Weidong checked his hands and feet, then lifted Fang Li’s shirt to check his waist. “Because I said no. Don’t be stupid.”
“You—what did you just say?!” Who was he calling stupid? Qin Weidong had actually called him brainless—and so bluntly, too!
Fang Li was furious. He pointed to the door. “Qin Weidong, if you say that again, I’ll… I’ll—no! You go! You can get the hell out of here!”
Fang Li was halfway through his grand declaration when he suddenly remembered—Qin Weidong wasn’t that little kid anymore. He wasn’t someone Fang Li could bend and boss around like he used to. Now Qin Weidong was a full head taller than him, solid and muscular. He could pick Fang Li up with one hand, and no matter how hard Fang Li struggled, he couldn’t escape those iron-strong arms.
It was just depressing… They’d eaten from the same rice bowl growing up, so how did they end up so different? And why couldn’t he boss Qin Weidong around anymore?
With that thought, Fang Li deflated. He slumped back into bed, curling up miserably under the covers, muttering, “Why can’t you just go back to being the little Qin Weidong from before? You used to be so sweet. I’d tell you to call me ‘older brother’ and you’d call me ‘older brother,’ tell you to go dig sweet potatoes and you’d do it. You’d even take a basket and go digging without a fuss. You weren’t even scared when someone chased you for two miles after hitting you.”
Qin Weidong was silent for a moment. “Back then, you told me that if I did something wrong, I had to dig up sweet potatoes for you.”
“Was I wrong? You made me mad, so what’s wrong with digging me up a couple of sweet potatoes?”
Qin Weidong said, “But that was someone else’s land. It was only after they chased and beat me that I realized it was stealing.”
Fang Li rubbed his nose. “Really…? I didn’t tell you it wasn’t our land? Maybe I forgot… but after that, you still—”
Qin Weidong said, “After that, if you wanted to eat them, I’d still go steal them for you.”
At that, all Fang Li could do was cough awkwardly. “Ahem, well… why do you remember things so clearly? It’s not a big deal for a boy to get chased and hit once or twice…”
He turned his head and saw that Qin Weidong was about to leave again. Dissatisfied, he said, “It’s almost dawn, just sleep with me for a bit! You already said those mine thieves won’t come tonight, and Uncle Pan and the others are guarding upstairs!”
It was the second time Fang Li had asked him that tonight. Just as Qin Weidong reached the door, he turned back again. He sat on the edge of the bed, set down the hunting rifle within reach, and removed his shoes and socks.
Fang Li’s lips curled into a smile. Wrapped in his blanket, he scooted over to make room for him.
Qin Weidong lay down. But he stayed close to the edge, far from Fang Li, leaving a gap between them big enough for half a person to lie in.
Fang Li didn’t notice at all. Like always when they slept together, he tugged his blanket and inched toward Qin Weidong, snuggling up to his warmth. “I was really scared just now. That’s why I wanted you to stay. Kiss me… Weidong, kiss my lips…” He turned to face him, puckering his lips to find Qin Weidong’s.
In the dark, Qin Weidong didn’t move. Fang Li couldn’t reach him and grew anxious. “Come on, kiss me!”
Qin Weidong’s jaw was clenched tightly in the darkness. As Fang Li pushed again, just as the second plea left his lips, Qin Weidong suddenly flipped over and fiercely pressed his lips against Fang Li’s.
The kiss was far deeper than what Fang Li had imagined—almost painful. Qin Weidong’s tongue pried open his teeth and swept through his mouth like an invader, capturing his tongue, sucking and twining around it as if trying to drain every last drop of flavor from him.
“Mm…!” Fang Li was running out of breath. He pounded against Qin Weidong’s shoulder, trying to push him away. He punched again and again. Qin Weidong ignored it at first, but as Fang Li began flailing more urgently, kicking and flailing his arms, he finally seemed to come to his senses and let go of his lips.
As their lips parted, a string of wet, heated breaths lingered between their mouths.
Fang Li panted softly, lifting his head to glare at Qin Weidong. “Qin Weidong…! What’s gotten into you? You kissed me so hard it hurt!”
Their kisses had always been light and gentle before—comfortable.
Qin Weidong looked at him. “Kissing you like this… doesn’t feel good?”
“It’s not that it doesn’t…” Fang Li shifted the leg trapped under Qin Weidong. “…It does feel good, but it’s kind of uncomfortable too. My chest feels all hot… Are you…?”
Qin Weidong didn’t answer. He silently wiped the droplet of saliva from the corner of Fang Li’s mouth with his thumb—neither of them knew whose it was.
Fang Li rolled over, leaning against Qin Weidong. “Why did they fire a gun this time? It’s worse than any other year…”
“This year, the ore quality from the mines in Baishan Ridge has been much worse than usual. Some of those who came to steal are people whose own mines have been ruined.”
A few years back, Baishan Ridge supported the rise of many daring mine owners. But in recent years, the ore quality had clearly declined. That’s how gold mining worked—the deeper you went, the harder it was to find high-quality ore.
Yet many bosses had gotten used to the big profits and, hungry for more, kept digging deeper—thousands of meters down—even if it meant losing everything. In the end, many bankrupted themselves completely.
“I feel like we’re digging too deep too. The deeper we go, the less we get out of it. Don’t you think?”
Earlier this year, Qin Weidong had already brought up the issue with Fang Hongqing, but the latter insisted that the blasting crew continue digging deeper.
“Now every meter we dig costs over two thousand yuan. Add in the cost of explosives and labor, and the expenses are even worse. But Uncle Fang still wants to keep going.”
“If he stops digging, how’s he going to support his mistress?” Fang Li yawned, sleepiness washing over him. “When my dad gets back in a couple days, I’ll talk to him.”
Qin Weidong let out a quiet “mm.”
“Oh right… don’t go up to the mine tomorrow morning. Granny’s been coughing a lot lately. Do you still have any money left? I want to take her to the hospital to get checked out and pick up some medicine…”
“I have money,” Qin Weidong replied.
Fang Li nodded and, unable to fight off the drowsiness, drifted off to sleep.
Author’s Note:
Back when they were kids, poor Qin Weidong had a tragic and hilarious little saga of being “loved” by Fang Li, hahaha.
And no, the two of them haven’t started dating yet (they haven’t defined their relationship)!!
They’ve just gotten way too used to acting like this around each other.
It’s the ’90s! In the mountains! There was no internet back then, things were still kind of innocent!!
Mainly it’s because baby Fang Li hasn’t had his awakening yet! But he will!!
Qin Weidong is one of those guys who doesn’t say much…
But deep down, he can’t stand for Fang Li to suffer even a tiny bit. As long as Fang Li says something twice—he’ll silently make it happen.
Fang Li is his precious little treasure! 💕
Axolotl Translations 
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