Lin Tao had originally not planned to go out that weekend. But Meng Xin wore her down with endless coaxing, and in the end she was dragged out of the house, brought along to the internet café to grind some beginner-zone quest together.

It wasn’t the first time she’d come to the internet café on a weekend, so Lin Tao hadn’t called Jiang Yan ahead of time. Who would have thought that the moment she got out of the car, she’d spot all five of them at the alley entrance.

She didn’t know what Hu Hanghang had said to Jiang Yan, but the moment she got close, she saw Jiang Yan look back. His expression immediately became very peculiar, going rigid for a split second.

She looked at the five of them and asked offhandedly, “Where are you all headed?”

Hu Hanghang: “Shopping!”

Xu Yichuan: “To eat!”

Guan Che: “The library.”

Song Yuan: “Out to hang out!”

Jiang Yan: “Just around.”

Five people gave five different answers in unison — a truly remarkable display of synchronization.

“……”

Lin Tao looked at the five of them, her face a sea of question marks.

Hu Hanghang reacted the fastest. “It’s like this — we thought Yan-bro spends every day cooped up in the internet café, so we wanted to drag him out for a walk. And it just so happens Guan Che needs to go to the library to buy a book, and the library he’s looking at is inside a shopping center. So we’re all going together.”

“And you can’t go out without having a bite to eat, right?” Xu Yichuan picked up the thread at a sprint. “The shopping center just so happens to have a new hot pot restaurant that just opened. We were planning to go try it after buying the book.”

“……” Lin Tao was half-convinced. She looked at Jiang Yan. “Is that right?”

Jiang Yan nodded. “Yes.”

“Of course.” Guan Che slung an arm around Jiang Yan’s shoulders and added, “Little sis — this is a guys-only outing. We won’t be inviting you along, alright?”

Lin Tao was still skeptical. None of the five of them seemed right to her — she just couldn’t put her finger on what was off. She didn’t ask further. “Alright, you all go ahead. I’m going to the internet café with Meng Xin.”

“Alright.” Guan Che waved at her. “If you need anything, just tell Xiao Liu or Xiao Qi.”

Lin Tao said nothing, took Meng Xin’s arm, and headed into the alley. She raised one hand in a casual wave over her shoulder without turning around.

Once the two of them were far enough away, all five let out a collective breath of relief.

Hu Hanghang tugged at his collar, feeling like a cold sweat had broken out across his back. “How come lying to Tao-mei makes me more nervous than going to the fight?”

Xu Yichuan glanced at him and gave a short laugh. “Pathetic.”

Hu Hanghang rolled up his sleeve and threw a punch at Xu Yichuan’s back. Xu Yichuan wasn’t going to take that lying down and balled up a fist to return the favor at the same force.

Those two threw punches like little kids — back and forth, back and forth, and wouldn’t quit.

Jiang Yan walked at the back, listening to Guan Che ramble on to Song Yuan about a particular character he’d run into at the competition — occasionally throwing in a word or two.

While waiting at a crosswalk for the light to change, Jiang Yan pulled out his phone and sent Lin Tao a WeChat message —

Taking care of some personal business. Nothing serious. Don’t worry.

Lin Tao replied as if she’d been expecting it — practically instantly —

Stay safe.

Jiang Yan stared at those four characters and couldn’t hold back a smile.

Guan Che noticed the sound beside him and leaned over. “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing.” Jiang Yan quickly tucked his phone away, looked at the road ahead — and suddenly realized something. “Why didn’t we just get a car just now?”

“……” Guan Che let out a sigh. “You ever seen a leader show up in a taxi? If there were enough time, I’d have arranged something big and flashy.”

Jiang Yan looked at him and said nothing.

Ten minutes later, the five of them reached the entrance of the abandoned vocational high school.

The location was remote. On top of that, it had been sitting derelict for years. The surrounding wall had crumbled with age, the white plaster peeling off to reveal the brick-red stone beneath.

The iron gate at the entrance, padlocked with a bolt that had long since become decorative, was covered in rust — touch it and your hand came away with a layer of red dust. The open ground inside had long been taken over by weeds.

When the wind blew, the iron gate let out a creaking groan, and the weeds shifted with it. In the dim light, you could almost swear you saw a white figure slipping past.

Hu Hanghang pushed open the iron gate. A draft blew in to meet them, cold and damp. He couldn’t help rubbing at his arms. “This place is a little creepy.”

“In broad daylight, what is there to be creeped out about?” Guan Che walked beside him and hooked an arm over his shoulder. “Though something did happen here before — a few years back, a student hanged himself right at this gate.”

“Just where you pushed open the iron gate just now. The security guard on duty couldn’t see clearly because of the fog one night, and when he pushed the door open — bang! A figure swung down from above, the person still not quite dead, and reached out to grab the guard’s ankle—”

“Crap!” Hu Hanghang shoved Guan Che away hard, his breathing slightly unsteady. “Are you even human?! What’s wrong with you?!”

Watching Hu Hanghang hop around in a panic, Guan Che couldn’t hold back a laugh. “Relax, Pangpang — I made it all up.”

“Get away from me. Don’t come near me.” Hu Hanghang was not about to walk beside Guan Che again. He looked at the row of empty buildings ahead and asked, “Which building are we meeting at? There are so many of them.”

“The one at the very back.” Jiang Yan navigated the overgrown patches with practiced ease, finding a small path that had been worn down by foot traffic.

The others followed behind him.

As they rounded the corner to the last building, it was clearly different from the rest. The number of empty bottles and crushed cans piled outside was considerably greater than at the front buildings.

Evening was coming on. The last traces of sunset were wedged between two of the buildings, and light shifted in the gap. Jiang Yan stood at the base of the building and pointed at the buildings on either side. “You three head up and wait.”

“Alright.”

The three of them circled around to the staircase in the middle and climbed up to the third floor. The classrooms inside had long been cleared out, and some of the window glass had been smashed out.

They found a corner room and pushed the window open — looking straight down at the base of the building opposite, where Jiang Yan and Guan Che stood on the steps of the teaching block.

As the sun set in the west, the shadows of the two figures stretched out long and thin behind them.

The agreed meeting time was five o’clock.

Guan Che kicked a crushed can aside and just sat down on the steps. “What time is it?”

Jiang Yan leaned against the stone pillar beside him, took out his phone, and checked. “Four fifty-three.”

“Damn.” Guan Che stretched his long legs out and casually yanked out a weed to chew on. “Didn’t think this idiot was so punctual.”

“……”

Jiang Yan pocketed his phone.

In the next second, the sound of motorcycle engines came rumbling from outside the building. Guan Che looked back at him, and stood up.

In no time, the rumbling grew louder. Jiang Yan glanced over at where Hu Hanghang and the others were — nothing visible.

He brought his gaze back and watched the motorcycles pull in. He turned sideways to Guan Che. “Your flashy entrance.”

“……What are you doing, giving me grief even at a time like this?” Guan Che spat out the weed he’d been chewing on. “They’ve brought a crowd.”

Six motorcycles parked in the clearing in front of the building. Apart from He Wen coming alone, all the others had someone riding behind them — adding up to over ten people in total.

Compared to just the two of them, plus three more hiding in the building, the numbers were double.

He Wen took off his helmet and hung it from the handlebar, stepped off the bike, and looked at Jiang Yan and Guan Che. A smile crossed his face. “What — just you two?”

“Two of us is already too many to take you on.” Guan Che was the kind of person who, regardless of the situation, would never let himself take a single loss. “You want to fight, then fight. What’s with all the talking?”

“Fine.” He Wen unwound the knuckleduster from his hand and flexed his fingers. “How do we decide who wins?”

“Until one side gives in.” Jiang Yan took off his jacket and tossed it aside. His features, lit from behind, were sharp and unyielding. “I hope this is the last time. Whatever happens — there’s no next time after this.”

“I hope so too.” He Wen threw aside what he was holding and tipped his head sideways to signal the people he’d brought.

Several people quickly closed in, surrounding Jiang Yan and Guan Che.

Jiang Yan and Guan Che stood back to back, taking in the crowd around them with sweeping gazes.

Guan Che couldn’t hold back a quiet laugh. “God, this is so juvenile.”

“……”

Jiang Yan looked at the stocky figures standing in front of him and said nothing.

Up in the building above, Hu Hanghang and the others were watching every move down below from their carefully concealed position. The moment it looked like both sides were about to go at it, a group of people in blue uniforms suddenly appeared from out of nowhere and bellowed at everyone below, “Police! Nobody move!”

Everyone: “?”

The whole farce arrived completely out of nowhere.

The local police substation had received a tip-off earlier that day — someone reporting that unlawful individuals were conducting illicit dealings in the area. The unit had assigned officers to keep watch around the school day and night for half a month, with nothing to show for it — and had called off the surveillance just two days prior. But that very afternoon, a new tip came in: two groups of people had entered the area, and one of the groups appeared to be carrying something. It had all the hallmarks of a deal going down.

Even though the surveillance had been called off, to ensure complete peace of mind, two officers had been left behind to monitor the surroundings.

As it happened, those two officers had gone to buy water nearby and missed Jiang Yan and the others coming in. But when He Wen’s group arrived with all their noise and fanfare, they caught it perfectly.

Concerned that the opposing group was large in number and the situation inside was unclear, the two officers were ordered to hold position and wait for backup.

The substation wasn’t far away, and the response was swift.

By the time the officers arrived, fully equipped and ready, they burst in at exactly the moment the two sides were about to come to blows — catching them all without giving anyone time to explain.

Hu Hanghang and the other two in the building narrowly escaped, though at the same time they were completely stunned by this particular development.

Once the police had cleared out, all three pulled their heads back from the window and crouched down together in the corner.

Hu Hanghang scratched at his hair, at a total loss. “What happened? Weren’t we here for a showdown to the death? How did the police show up?”

“……”

Nobody had seen this coming. The people taken off to the station — Jiang Yan and Guan Che included — could never, in their wildest imaginings, have pictured themselves ending up there like this.

The over-ten people taken in were all placed in separate interrogation rooms.

“You’re saying the two of you agreed to come here for a martial arts exchange?” The officer looked at the clean-featured young man sitting before him. “This is a brawl! Gathering to incite violence!”

“A martial arts exchange? Those are some pretty words!”

Jiang Yan: “……”

After a thorough interrogation, the outcome left everyone slack-jawed — this was no criminal dealing whatsoever. Just a bunch of young idiots.

The officers who had made the call couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry.

Of the over-ten people brought in, apart from Jiang Yan, Guan Che, and He Wen, the rest were all minors — given a stern talking-to and sent home.

The three of them were held. In addition to writing a written pledge, they also needed a parent or guardian to come in person to sign the pledge before they could leave.

Faced with this particular form of punishment, all three felt thoroughly cursed.

Jiang Yan had no parent to call. Guan Che simply called both his parents. He Wen phoned his uncle.

After notifying their guardians, the three of them were crammed into a reception room to write their pledges — minimum word count: one thousand.

“I’ve never written this many words for a composition.” Guan Che had cranked out two hundred characters and couldn’t help grousing, “Damn it — if I’d known it would come to this, I never should have come back from Lake City.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yan, who was writing furiously beside him, gave a cold snort but said nothing.

If he had known this was how it would end, he’d probably never have participated in the basketball game at all.

Who on earth could have seen this coming.

Nobody.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yan looked up at He Wen, sitting across from him.

Their eyes met for a moment. Jiang Yan couldn’t resist a dig. “What are you staring at? If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be sitting here writing these pointless pledges.”

“You—”

He Wen had half-risen to his feet when someone pushed open the door from outside and bellowed, “What’s going on in there?!”

He Wen, for all his bluster, still had some nerve. “What do you mean, what’s going on — can’t a person hit a character they don’t know how to write?!”

“……”

The room fell into an awkward silence.

Guan Che kicked He Wen in the shin under the table. “Could you please just shut up so I can get some fresh air at some point today?”

He Wen snapped back, “He started it!”

There was something that even felt slightly aggrieved about the way he said it.

“Can’t be bothered with you.” Guan Che had no patience for further argument and put his head back down and kept writing his pledge. His usually neat handwriting had gone all over the place in his agitation.

He Wen’s uncle, Li Tang, and Guan Che’s parents arrived at the police station at almost exactly the same time. The three of them crossed paths at the entrance, none of them knowing each other.

Once they went in and were fully briefed on the situation, Li Tang was first to apologize to Guan Che’s parents, then took He Wen by the arm and made him do the same. “My sister and I are both busy with work and haven’t been able to keep a proper eye on him. Sorry for the trouble.”

Jiang Yan hadn’t expected He Wen — who was all yell-and-fight and no brain — to have an uncle who was this reasonable. Gentle and refined, He Wen’s complete opposite.

Guan Che’s parents also knew their son and Jiang Yan’s tendencies well enough — they were under no illusion that the other side bore all the blame here.

Guan Che’s father spoke first, as the senior voice present. “Things got this far, and our two boys can’t claim zero responsibility. But you’re all not children anymore — you’re adults. I hope that going forward, when something comes up, you can all think before you act. Not everything can be solved with fists.”

Everything Guan Che’s father said was fair, and he didn’t take sides.

Li Tang pressed down on He Wen’s head to make him apologize to Jiang Yan and Guan Che. He Wen refused.

Li Tang said sternly, “If you hadn’t kept going after them, today wouldn’t have happened. Do as your uncle says — apologize to them, and we put this behind us.”

He Wen had been afraid of this uncle since he was small. Hearing those words, he seethed but didn’t dare say so. He hung his head, and in the most reluctant way imaginable, mumbled out, “Sorry.”

Guan Che, who had been preparing to put on a show of dignity, got a single look from his mother and instantly let all his posturing go. “Alright — this isn’t all on you. We weren’t entirely in the right either.”

At that, He Wen had just started to say something to wrap up this excruciating day.

Guan Che followed up with, “But if you really want to get down to it — that little sister of yours stirs up way too much trouble. I just turned her down, and she made it a life-or-death situation. Did she have to go that far?”

The ever-silent Jiang Yan standing to one side: “……”

It had to be said — the fact that this brainless Guan Che had made it to this age without meeting a worse fate was a genuine miracle.

The moment those words left his mouth, He Wen went off like someone had stepped on his tail, exploding in an instant. “What did you just say?! Say it again — go on!!”

“I’ll say it a hundred times and it won’t change!” Guan Che shot back.

He Wen was furious. He shook off Li Tang’s grip and threw a punch straight at Guan Che. Guan Che was not the kind to lie down and take a hit — he balled his fist and swung back.

The room erupted into chaos.

Li Tang was first to come to his senses and stepped forward to restrain He Wen. He reached out and blocked Guan Che’s swing at the same time. Jiang Yan saw this and quickly pulled Guan Che back.

Guan Che’s mother was furious enough to breathe smoke.

“Guan Che!” She was first to speak. “Apologize!”

Li Tang also grabbed He Wen’s arm. “Wen — apologize.”

Both of them were seething and not about to hear a word of anything, and shouted in unison, “He goes first!”

With that, the two glared at each other and started shadow-boxing in the air. Jiang Yan gripped Guan Che’s arm and tried to keep as much distance as possible between him and He Wen.

Li Tang also did his best to keep He Wen’s movements in check. He smiled politely at Guan Che’s parents. “Looks like we can’t talk this out today. How about this — once Wen has calmed down, I’ll bring him in person to come and apologize properly.”

Guan Che’s mother was equally embarrassed. “No, no — we should be apologizing to your family. By rights, the bulk of this is Guan Che’s fault.”

Adults being politely insincere — nobody could read anyone’s real intentions.

In the end, Guan Che and He Wen each backed down a step and apologized simultaneously.

Both of them stood facing each other at the police station entrance, glaring daggers at each other — but with their respective family present, they had no choice but to bow stiffly at each other and say “Sorry” in unison.

As unwilling as could be. Like two people at a forced arranged-marriage ceremony.

After the mutual apology, Li Tang steadied He Wen with a hand on his shoulder. “Well, we’ll head off now. If anything comes up, we’ll be in touch.”

Guan Che’s parents didn’t say anything further, just nodded in acknowledgment. When the two of them had walked far enough away, Guan Che’s mother immediately laid into Guan Che without restraint.

“That mouth of yours — what am I going to do with you?!”

Guan Che dodged left and right and retreated behind Jiang Yan. “But Mom — I didn’t say anything wrong! If he hadn’t started things, none of this would have happened.”

Jiang Yan bowed his head toward the two elders. “Auntie, Uncle — I’m sorry.”

Guan Che’s mother had a soft spot for Jiang Yan since he was young. Hearing this, whatever anger she had left — she couldn’t hold onto it anymore. “This isn’t your fault. If anyone’s to blame, blame that rotten-mouthed Guan Che for being born with a face that attracts trouble!”

Guan Che was deeply unimpressed. “You can’t put it like that — this face of mine came from you two.”

“……” Guan Che’s mother moved in threateningly. Guan Che was already bolting. “I’m heading off — you two go home however you came!”

Guan Che’s mother called after him, “You’re not coming home for dinner tonight either?”

The already-distant Guan Che waved a hand. “Nope, head back without me!”

Guan Che’s mother shook her head and sighed. “That rotten kid.”

“Don’t be angry.” Guan Che’s father came up and put an arm around her shoulders. “He’s still your son, after all.”

“……”

Jiang Yan, standing to one side, finally understood exactly who Guan Che had inherited his withering comebacks from.

Like father, like son.

The ancients never lied.

The news that Jiang Yan and Guan Che had been taken in by the police — Hu Hanghang and the other three hadn’t dared tell Lin Tao. They didn’t dare go back to the internet café either.

The three of them just stood at the alley entrance — discussing countermeasures on one hand, worrying about the two of them on the other.

“Damn, what if they have to spend a few days inside?” Xu Yichuan said. “Should we call Old Yu?”

“Let’s not — things haven’t gotten that bad yet.” Song Yuan thought for a moment. “How about we call Guan Che’s parents instead?”

“……At that point we might as well call Old Yu.”

The three of them argued for ages and still couldn’t come up with any decent plan.

Not until nightfall.

Jiang Yan and Guan Che came back from the station and ran into the three of them at the alley entrance.

“Damn!” Xu Yichuan was first to leap up from the ground. “I was starting to think I wasn’t going to see you two again today.”

“……” Jiang Yan pushed away his enthusiastic embrace. “It’s not like we did anything heinous.”

“Then why did the police suddenly show up?”

Guan Che rubbed at the bruise forming at the corner of his eye — courtesy of He Wen — and gave a grunt. “They got the wrong people. Thought we were criminals.”

The whole thing was too embarrassing. Both Jiang Yan and Guan Che preferred not to dwell on it, brushed it off in a few words. Jiang Yan’s final instruction was, “Nobody talks about today.”

Hu Hanghang and the others all nodded. “We won’t say a word.”

“Alright.” Jiang Yan said. “You three go find somewhere to eat. We’re going back to change.”

“Got it.”

The three of them quickly turned and walked off in the opposite direction. Jiang Yan shed his jacket and carried it over his arm, glanced back at Guan Che. “Are you okay?”

“Hm?” Guan Che let go of his hand. “Fine.”

“Was that intentional just now?”

Intentionally provoking He Wen.

Intentionally taking that punch.

“Both yes and no.” Guan Che tucked his hands in his pockets. “Just felt like going back and forth with him like this forever has no end to it. You said yourself you hit him once in the game. Think of my punch as paying him back.”

Earlier at the station, Guan Che had been all bark and no bite — when he’d actually thrown the punch, he’d held back. Landing on He Wen, it probably hadn’t done much.

“This is over now. He probably won’t look for trouble anymore.” Guan Che shrugged. “We can’t keep wasting time on someone like him.”

Jiang Yan met his gaze and curved the corner of his mouth. “Fair enough.”

The two of them walked into the internet café one behind the other.

Lin Tao wasn’t in the gaming room — she was sitting behind the front counter, chatting with Zhou Ming.

That kid might not talk much or smile a lot around other people, but whenever he was with Lin Tao, he was like a different person — more talkative, and smiling more.

Before Guan Che headed upstairs, he slapped Jiang Yan on the shoulder. “Looks like you’ve got yourself a little romantic rival there.”

“……” Jiang Yan kicked him in the back of the knee. “Go away.”

Guan Che ran off laughing.

Lin Tao looked up at Jiang Yan. “Got everything sorted?”

“More or less.” Jiang Yan walked toward the front counter, his gaze landing on Zhou Ming.

Noticing the gaze, Zhou Ming looked up and made eye contact with him. He managed a strained smile — nothing like the full-bloom grin he’d been wearing for Lin Tao.

“……”

Jiang Yan quietly looked away. “I’m going upstairs to change.”

“Okay. Have you eaten?”

“Not yet. Going out soon.” Jiang Yan drummed his fingertips on the counter. “What about you?”

“I ate.” Lin Tao pointed at Zhou Ming. “This kid cooked noodles for me. He’s got decent culinary skills.”

Jiang Yan’s eyelid gave a small twitch. He thought to himself: I’ve been taking care of you all this time and you’ve never once cooked anything for me. Where’s your sense of loyalty.

Of course, neither Lin Tao nor Zhou Ming had any idea what was going through his head.

Jiang Yan didn’t linger downstairs. He went back up, showered, and changed, then came back down to chat with Lin Tao. “Song Yuan and the others reserved a spot at a restaurant outside. Want to come?”

“Sure, let me send Meng Xin a message.”

“Okay.”

Meng Xin and Guan Che came downstairs at the same time.

“Let’s go — Pangpang says they’ve already started serving.” Guan Che tucked away his phone and looked down at the two of them. “You two ready?”

“Ready — we were waiting on you.” Lin Tao reached into the fruit bowl on the front counter for a mint candy. She looked at the person sitting inside. “Zhou Ming — do you want to come with us?”

Jiang Yan glanced back.

Zhou Ming shook his head. “No thank you — I’m not hungry.”

Lin Tao reached out and tousled his head. “Then big sis will bring you back something nice to eat.”

“……Sure.”

Jiang Yan: “……”

The restaurant wasn’t far from the internet café. The four of them cut through the alley to get there. The night breeze was warm and gentle.

Lin Tao’s hand was held in Jiang Yan’s, her nails pressing into his knuckles. As they walked, their shoulders brushed against each other every so often.

“Everything settled?” Lin Tao asked, watching Jiang Yan’s profile.

Jiang Yan glanced sideways at her. The surrounding lights were dim, making his features harder to make out clearly. “More or less.”

Guan Che had deliberately taken He Wen’s punch.

And from the looks of it, He Wen’s uncle was no pushover — He Wen was probably in for a thorough psychological talking-to when he got home.

But regardless of that, it should have nothing to do with them anymore.

Going forward, different roads for different people.

Lin Tao felt a passing wave of feeling and let out a small sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Yan asked.

“A little disappointed I didn’t get to see the school tyrant going full force.”

“……” Jiang Yan thought back to what had transpired that afternoon and his eyelid gave another twitch. He said vaguely, “There wasn’t much to see.”

Two people who had been about to fight only to be marched off to the police station as suspected criminals before a single punch was thrown — indeed, there was nothing to see and nothing worth talking about.

Jiang Yan just wanted to turn the page on this chapter as quickly as possible. But Lin Tao was genuinely curious and kept pressing him with one question after another.

“Was there the whole pre-fight trash-talk thing?” Lin Tao held his arm. “And posturing with weapons, that sort of thing?”

Jiang Yan looked at her with a smile. “Have you watched too many gangster movies? It’s not like anyone’s running with the triads — it doesn’t have to be that dramatic.”

“You know it doesn’t have to be that dramatic?” Lin Tao seemed to become a different person. “For as grown as you and Guan Che are — how come when something comes up, you still handle it like little kids, resorting to brute force?”

“……”

Jiang Yan was baffled for half a moment, unsure why she’d suddenly gotten upset.

“I hope this is the last time.”

Lin Tao was genuinely annoyed.

When she’d seen them earlier that afternoon, she’d already had a vague sense that something was off — and she hadn’t believed a word of the so-called guys-only outing.

Five of them had looked exactly like they were heading off to do something sketchy.

So once she got to the internet café, Lin Tao hadn’t rushed to the gaming room. She stayed downstairs and chatted with Xiao Liu, the front counter staff member.

Xiao Liu had a very loose mouth. Lin Tao had barely needed to make an effort before the whole story came tumbling out.

“Apparently it’s something Guan-bro got tangled up in back in the day,” Xiao Liu said, utterly unconcerned. “Yan-bro and the others went over to sort it out and put it to rest.”

“Sort it out? How?” Lin Tao didn’t understand the kinds of entanglements boys got into. “Don’t tell me they’re going to settle it with a fight?”

“Yeah, a fight.” Xiao Liu bent over to turn on a computer. “Fight until the other side gives in — then it’s over.”

“……”

Lin Tao genuinely thought this method was monumentally stupid.

But when she received Jiang Yan’s message, she’d been worried something might go wrong. So she’d said nothing — just told him to stay safe.

As far as she was concerned, no matter how stupid this method of solving things was, getting home in one piece was what mattered most.

Looking at her puffed-up expression, Jiang Yan suddenly had a moment of clarity. He hooked her fingers in his. “There won’t be a next time. I promise, this is the last time.”

Lin Tao pressed her lips tight, clearly not very convinced.

Jiang Yan looked at her and smiled. “Honestly — nothing happened today. We didn’t even end up fighting.”

Since things had already come to this, Jiang Yan figured there wasn’t much point in hiding anything. “We were about to go at it when the police showed up.”

“What?” Lin Tao stared at him in astonishment. “Things went that far?”

“No.” He slung his arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer. “They got the wrong information. Thought we were criminals.”

“……” Lin Tao looked up. The young man’s firm jaw was just above her, flashing past. “Honestly, you two aren’t that far off from criminals.”

Jiang Yan couldn’t help an exasperated laugh. He reached up and ruffled her hair. “Don’t say ridiculous things. Anyway — this is definitely the last time. No next time.”

“Fine — I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.” Lin Tao sighed. “Turns out being a school tyrant isn’t so easy either.”

Jiang Yan gave a quiet “mmm,” his arm over her right shoulder. He leaned his head close to her ear, his breath warm. “Being a school tyrant is hard.”

“Being the school tyrant’s girlfriend isn’t easy either.” He turned and gently pressed his lips against her ear, then laughed softly. “You’ve had to put up with a lot. Thank you, girlfriend.”

“……”

By the time dinner was done and everything had wound down, it was late. Cars streamed on busy roads, and the tall buildings lit up with shimmering lights.

The night was deep.

On the walk back to the internet café, Lin Tao had bought Zhou Ming a portion of stir-fried chestnuts and a pearl milk tea — the milk tea was one Jiang Yan had queued up to buy.

“He already ate, didn’t he? Why are you buying him this much.” Jiang Yan said, mild and cool, as he came back with the milk tea.

“The kid had his meal at around five in the afternoon.” Lin Tao waited for the chestnuts to come off the heat. “And besides, I promised I’d bring him something. I’m not going to go back on my word to a child.”

“Didn’t realize — you’re quite attentive toward him.”

Lin Tao looked back at him and said nothing. She peeled a chestnut and lifted it toward his lips. “How petty can you be — getting jealous over a kid?”

Jiang Yan opened his mouth and bit the chestnut in. His jaw moved as he chewed, and he said with all the bluster of someone who refused to admit defeat, “I’m not jealous of anything.”

“Mmm, you’re not jealous — you’re just full of hot air.”

“……”

“You know eating chestnuts can cause—” Lin Tao didn’t spell it out, substituting a sound effect for what she was going to say. “Poot.“

“……”

Lin Tao accepted the bag of chestnuts the vendor had packed up for her, grinning at him. “Either way, it all converts into the same thing. So, four and a half rounded up, aren’t you basically eating hot air?”

Jiang Yan was at a complete loss for words.

All the way back, Lin Tao chattered without stopping. He had no way around her, and the moment they reached a dark stretch of the alley, he pushed her into the corner and leaned down to kiss her.

This part of the alley had no streetlights. The shops around had long since shut their doors for the night. It was pitch black — just a faint, hazy shimmer of moonlight.

Jiang Yan lowered his head, knee pressing against her legs, teeth catching her lower lip. His tone turned ferocious. “Shut up.”

“……”

Lin Tao had long since stopped being surprised by his improper behavior. She looked up into his eyes. In the dark, his gaze was like a scattering of stars — brilliant and vivid.

They looked at each other for a moment. Jiang Yan didn’t have the heart to bite down hard. His teeth released her lip and shifted into something soft and gentle. His long lashes swept down, unable to hide the light in his eyes.

The night breeze moved through the alley. Stars and the moon tangled in the spring wind above.

In that quiet corner, two overlapping silhouettes pressed gently close.

……

In the hazy moonlight, Jiang Yan steadied his breath, stepped back, and held up the milk tea in his hand against his face, trying to press down the warmth rising in him.

Lin Tao simply felt a little weak in the knees. She gripped his arm, her nails leaving a faint shallow line on his skin.

The two of them talked for a while before turning and walking back toward the internet café.

Monday was the next day. Lin Tao didn’t stay long — she handed over the things for Zhou Ming, and after a brief back-and-forth with Jiang Yan outside, she headed back.

Jiang Yan walked her to the alley entrance to get a car as usual. On his way back, he ran into Guan Che and Xiao Liu and Xiao Qi at the door, smoking.

Guan Che made a clicking sound with his tongue. “The difference between someone in a relationship and everyone else really shows.”

Jiang Yan walked past him, glanced at the bruise at the corner of his eye, and after a pause — reached out and pressed it without any warning.

Guan Che jumped sideways. The burning end of his cigarette nearly scorched his own hand. “Aah! What the hell, Jiang Yan?! Are you insane?!”

“You talk too much.” Jiang Yan took his hand back lazily. “Smoke less.”

“Get out of here, you bastard.” Guan Che rolled up his sleeve and moved in threateningly.

Jiang Yan stepped up onto the entrance steps, turned, and looked at him with unhurried ease. “Better think carefully — which of us is actually the bastard here.”

“……I swear to—” Guan Che was already rolling up his sleeves to come after him.

Jiang Yan stood there without moving.

The glow from the internet café streamed through the glass door.

He stood in the light, his silhouette stretching long behind him.

“Forget it.” Guan Che — for reasons known only to him — seemed to think of something. “Can’t be bothered dealing with you.”

Jiang Yan smiled, said nothing, and walked straight inside.

Inside the internet café, Zhou Ming was still hunched over, writing practice problems.

The milk tea and the bag of chestnuts were off to the side, untouched.

Jiang Yan went around behind the front counter and sat in the empty seat beside him.

Zhou Ming felt the movement, looked up, and gave a polite greeting. “Jiang Yan-bro.”

“Yeah.” Jiang Yan gripped the mouse and opened the Minesweeper game on the desktop. “Why aren’t you eating the stuff I bought?”

“I wanted to bring it back for my sister.” Zhou Ming kept his head down. The pen in his hand didn’t stop — neat, forceful characters followed one after another, line by line.

Jiang Yan looked at him, and something in his chest became hard to name. He thought about it, then said, “You’re a good kid.”

After a beat, he said, “Bring the chestnuts back for your sister — but don’t give her the milk tea. Drink it yourself.”

“……Oh. Thank you, Jiang Yan-bro.”

Silence again.

Jiang Yan found himself thinking that whenever Zhou Ming was around him, the kid really did become almost mute — and it actually made him feel like Zhou Ming was a little afraid of him.

He leaned back in the chair, drummed his fingers along the edge of the desk, and called out, “Zhou Ming.”

“Hmm?” The young boy looked up with the straw in his mouth. “What is it?”

Jiang Yan looked at him, and for a moment had nothing to say. “……”

Zhou Ming also looked at him, blinking.

A silence.

“Never mind.” Jiang Yan dropped his gaze, tapped the mouse, and cleared out a large portion of the minefield on the screen.

Without looking at Zhou Ming, he asked in an offhand tone, “Are you afraid of me?”

“……No.”

“Then how come when you’re with me, you talk so much less than when you’re with your Lin Tao-jie?” Jiang Yan was just teasing him. “I’ve been taking care of you all this time and you’ve never cooked anything for me.”

As soon as the words were out —

Two freshly peeled chestnuts appeared beside Jiang Yan’s hand.

Golden, plump, and perfect.

Jiang Yan followed the trail to Zhou Ming’s desk — where a small pile of broken shells sat — and in his hand he was currently peeling another one.

“Why are you peeling them for me?” Jiang Yan picked one up. Something he couldn’t quite name stirred in his chest. “I bought these for you.”

Zhou Ming didn’t look at him. He kept his head down, and in profile, his face looked thin and angular. His voice was very quiet. “It’s fine — you eat them. I have plenty.”

“You little punk.” Jiang Yan looked at him, and immediately felt his own earlier pettiness for what it was. He thought for a moment, then couldn’t hold back a laugh. He reached over and patted the kid on the head. “Keep them for yourself.”

But even as he spoke, Zhou Ming had already peeled a small pile and placed them by his hand.

Jiang Yan smiled and didn’t say anything more.