When Zhang Yuge heaved himself up the mountain—gnawing on two grilled sausages—he found Ning Sui and Xie Yichen standing face-to-face on one side of the observation deck. Ning Sui was wearing a slightly oversized white windbreaker jacket that made her look rather petite.
Zhang Yuge thought the jacket looked a little familiar, but assumed Ning Sui had brought it herself and didn’t think much of it. Clutching his sausages, he scurried over eagerly. “Ning Sui, what a coincidence—you’re here too. Did you come by yourself?”
He’d spotted a snack vendor earlier, said he needed a moment’s rest, and let Xie Yichen head on up to check out the view.
Ning Sui pointed toward Hu Ke’er not far off—who was posing and preening while Xu Zhou took photos of her—with Shen Qing standing nearby holding their things for them.
“No, I came with friends. They’re over there.”
Zhang Yuge observed thoughtfully. “Ah, so that’s Hu Ke’er’s boyfriend?”
People were coming and going all around them, and Hu Ke’er had snagged an excellent position. It looked like she’d be taking photos for a good while yet. Zhang Yuge cheerfully held out the sausages. “Want one? One for each of you.”
Downstairs he’d already eaten one himself, and had bought two more intending to share with Xie Yichen—only to unexpectedly run into Ning Sui.
Ning Sui silently regarded the two glistening, oiled-up sausages, waved her hand in polite refusal. Zhang Yuge made a sound, then turned to Xie Yichen, who serenely pushed them back with a very polite “No need, thank you.”
Even he didn’t want them. Zhang Yuge was a little disgruntled. “Why not? I cradled these in the palm of my hands all the way up here.”
“Eating one of those would cancel out all those kilometers you just walked.”
Xie Yichen put it quite diplomatically, but Zhang Yuge knew him well enough—he snorted. “Cut it out. You just think my sausages are dirty!”
“……”
Xie Yichen genuinely wasn’t fond of street food, but with that vigorously delivered sentence hanging in the air, and Ning Sui standing right there looking like she wanted to say something but couldn’t quite manage it, it all produced an effect where something seemed subtly off, and the air fell briefly silent.
In the end it was Ning Sui who spoke first, sincerely. “That’s not what we meant.”
Zhang Yuge: “……”
She arrived a mere ten minutes later and somehow the two of you are already a unified front?
Before he had a chance to reply, Hu Ke’er spotted them through the crowd with her sharp eyes, and the three of them stood facing each other in a triangular formation. Hu Ke’er had been agonizing over how to bring up the previous night’s events naturally with Xu Zhou, but now that the opportunity had delivered itself to her doorstep, she quickly waved. “Zhang Yuge!”
Zhang Yuge gave Xie Yichen a look of aristocratic disdain—plenty of other places for me to be—then turned, sausages in hand, and walked over to them.
Xu Zhou also noticed and looked puzzled. “Who’s that?”
“Just a couple of friends Sui and I ran into in the old town last night.” Hu Ke’er silently mouthed an apology to Ning Sui in her head and deliberately blurred the details. “The three of them are pretty tight now.”
Xu Zhou made a sound of acknowledgment, sized Zhang Yuge up from head to toe, and said nothing. Hu Ke’er was secretly thrilled—great, a smooth landing, pulled off seamlessly.
Zhang Yuge walked up and greeted her, then looked at Xu Zhou. “Hu Ke’er, this your boyfriend?”
“That’s me.” Xu Zhou nodded. “How did you know?”
Zhang Yuge hadn’t thought it through and reflexively glanced at Shen Qing, adding naturally, “We met last night.”
——Process of elimination.
Hu Ke’er went rigid immediately, sensing impending disaster. Sure enough, in the next second, Xu Zhou also turned toward Shen Qing, eyes narrowing slightly. “Last night? At the inn downstairs?”
“Didn’t you two meet in the old town? Why were you coming back to the inn together?”
“Well…”
Xu Zhou’s tone had unconsciously taken on a somewhat pointed edge. Zhang Yuge also picked up on the delicacy of the situation, standing there awkwardly with his two sausages. “Um… we were staying at the hotel next door. It was raining, no way around it, so we shared an umbrella…”
“You shared an umbrella?”
Hu Ke’er: “……”
Good heavens.
She was practically on the verge of fainting from exasperation—this walking disaster was practically volunteering to implicate them. She’d planned for everything but not for a teammate who would hand-deliver the evidence!
Before Young Master Xu’s expression could completely sour, Hu Ke’er quickly jumped in. “Don’t listen to him, he’s talking nonsense. It was Ning Sui and Xie Yichen who shared an umbrella.”
“Xie Yichen?” Xu Zhou felt like he’d heard that name somewhere.
Hu Ke’er pointed him out. “There—see? The tall one standing next to Ning Sui—” And there didn’t seem to be any descriptor that fit other than “handsome,” which she caught herself on just in time.
The distance was a bit far and hard to make out clearly. Xu Zhou shot her a suspicious glance, then looked toward Shen Qing, his gaze questioning and seeking confirmation.
Hu Ke’er also looked over with a hint of a plea in her eyes.
Shen Qing met both their gazes, then gave a nod. Only then did Xu Zhou’s expression return to normal, and Hu Ke’er quietly let out a breath of relief.
Zhang Yuge took in all the layers of this little drama and thought privately: what kind of boyfriend had Hu Ke’er ended up with? So suspicious. Two people together with a thousand calculations going on between them—what an exhausting way to live.
Still, Xu Zhou at least had the decency to stand there and take it gracefully. He said to Zhang Yuge in a mild tone, “Sorry about that, I was rash just now. Let me introduce myself—I’m Xu Zhou.”
“No worries.” Zhang Yuge gave him a nod. “Zhang Yuge.”
Hu Ke’er smoothly filled in the gap. “And this is Shen Qing.”
After everyone exchanged greetings, Hu Ke’er’s attention finally shifted to what Zhang Yuge was holding. “Are you actually going to eat those sausages? You’ve been holding them up forever.”
Seeing her obvious, barely-suppressed craving, he ignored her entirely and instead thrust both large sausages ceremonially toward Xu Zhou. “Bro, you want one?”
Xu Zhou, who had been recently subjected to the ordeal of wild mushrooms and was now very cautious about food—especially unfamiliar things like this—made a pained face and waved them off. “No thanks, I’ll pass.”
“Qing-bro?”
Shen Qing naturally wasn’t going to be drawn to something this greasy. Zhang Yuge smiled in understanding and stuffed the sausages into Hu Ke’er’s hands, looking thoroughly self-satisfied. “Alright, they’re yours then. I can’t eat any more anyway.”
Hu Ke’er’s eyes lit up, but her mouth was still being dishonest. “Both of them? That doesn’t feel right.”
“Did I say free? That’ll be three yuan eighty per sausage.”
Hu Ke’er: “……”
At that moment, Ning Sui was at the observation deck, asking Xie Yichen to take a photo for her—Xia Fanghui was always worried about her safety when she was out, and just hearing about her itinerary wasn’t enough; she needed visual proof. So Ning Sui had developed the habit of taking photos at each scenic spot to document her visits.
Xie Yichen handed the phone back. Ning Sui took a look—the angle was quite proper. So she asked, “Thank you. Would you like me to take one for you?”
Xie Yichen shook his head. “No need. I don’t really like having my photo taken.”
Ning Sui instinctively asked, “Why?”
It was a rather personal question, and she felt he might not necessarily answer.
Ning Sui held her breath for a moment, then watched as Xie Yichen cast a glance down at her, brows slightly pressed together. “I don’t like smiling for cameras.”
She immediately thought of something. “Is that also why you didn’t take the reporter’s interview?”
Xie Yichen nodded. “Mm.”
Something curious happened—Ning Sui seemed to know exactly where his boundaries lay. She had inched right up to the edge and then quietly retreated. The topic could easily have been pushed further, yet she didn’t ask anything more—just let out a drawn-out “oh.”
The cold wind drifted past. Ning Sui pulled the pure white jacket more snugly around herself. The hemline was quite wide, making her denim-clad legs below look all the more slender. She raised her clear eyes. “Is my bag heavy?”
“It’s fine.”
Since Ning Sui’s bag was on the smaller side and light-colored, it would look too conspicuous for Xie Yichen to simply carry it by hand, so he’d tucked it directly inside his own black backpack and pulled the zipper shut. Zhang Yuge, arriving a moment ago, hadn’t even noticed the matryoshka situation.
“Oh.” Ning Sui responded slowly, then suddenly asked, “Do you have plans tonight?”
Xie Yichen raised an eyebrow and asked at a measured pace, “To do what.”
Ning Sui pinched the sleeve of the white jacket he’d lent her between her fingertips, her face half-buried in the collar. “We’re leaving the old town tomorrow afternoon. I wanted to take you to a movie as a thank-you.”
Xie Yichen lowered his eyes, paused for a brief moment. “What about your friends?”
“They could come too—Zhang Yuge would be great to have along.” Ning Sui thought it over and pulled out her phone to show him. “There’s a really popular movie that just came out. Ke’er has been saying she wants to see it.”
She paused, then glanced at him. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“……”
Ning Sui watched his expression but couldn’t read anything in it.
Xie Yichen, shoulder bag casually on one side, fell into step beside her toward the other, livelier end of the peak. His voice carried no particular emotion. “Fine. Ask Zhang Yuge.”
Ning Sui: “……Oh.”
By this time, Hu Ke’er had already finished her two grilled sausages. Seeing Ning Sui and Xie Yichen walking over together, her gaze cycled through a thousand emotions—”oh my god, how long have you two been standing there together, what did I miss,” “where have you been, I almost crashed and burned back there,” “Shen Qing is genuinely a good person,” and “Zhang Yuge is genuinely such an idiot.”
Xu Zhou had, in fact, met Xie Yichen before. Now, as the person walked unhurriedly closer, he realized this wasn’t just a familiar name—the face was familiar too. But it had always been with complicated feelings that Xu Zhou regarded him.
It all went back to the girlfriend he’d had in his second year of high school.
She’d been in the top class at Gao Hua, and every now and then she would regale him with the remarkable achievements of certain outstanding boys in their year.
It was the kind of uncontrollable urge to share—because there was simply so much material—and among all the people she brought up, one name came up far more frequently than anyone else: the year’s most popular boy.
——He was called “year heartthrob” rather than “school heartthrob” because, as she explained, it was out of basic respect for the senior boys in their third year.
For a period of time, Xu Zhou was particularly fed up, because she kept going on and on about it—the year heartthrob placed first in the city-wide exam, the year heartthrob won some competition prize, the year heartthrob had loads of girls in his year who liked him, the year heartthrob had such a great personality, even helped carry water for his class during the sports day without any airs whatsoever…
The list went on endlessly. Xu Zhou had even argued with her over it, precisely because she had said point-blank that she thought the year heartthrob was better-looking than him.
Through all of this, he came to fully understand what kind of standing Xie Yichen held at Gao Hua—and he was very displeased by it, firmly refusing to believe this person was as extraordinary as people made him out to be.
Until one day, when he went to Gao Hua to visit his then-girlfriend and came face-to-face with this legendary figure himself.
The school happened to be holding a basketball game—a match between their school and Gao Hua. On the court, Xu Zhou spotted a few friends from his international class.
The area around the court was packed with spectators, with girls crowding the front rows in particular, all cheering and shouting—it was a spectacular scene.
Amid the noise, his girlfriend excitedly tugged at his sleeve and said, “See him? That’s Xie Yichen!”
Xu Zhou heard the shouts too—the vast majority of the girls were indeed calling Xie Yichen’s name. That familiar swell of irritation rose in him again; he felt like their school’s momentum had been completely overshadowed by the home crowd.
Xie Yichen was wearing a white short-sleeved jersey, number 9. The same uniform as everyone else, but somehow he stood out conspicuously among a group of sweaty, straining boys.
Several players from Xu Zhou’s school kept their focus locked on him. Xie Yichen was unruffled—he switched between offense and defense, passed to his teammates when blocked, composed and unhurried, like an impenetrable fortress.
The young man had sharp, clean-cut features, striking eyes, his whole being radiating heat and vigor, and there was something innately bold and unrestrained about him. With another turning point in the score, he spotted his moment, drove past the player from Xu Zhou’s school who’d been specifically marking him, leapt into the air, and launched a clean, decisive three-pointer straight through the net.
The crowd erupted in screams like a tidal wave. The score was being fiercely contested, with Gao Hua consistently holding Xu Zhou’s school down by a narrow margin. Xu Zhou could only fret helplessly from the sidelines.
He would admit that shot was impressive. His ex-girlfriend was cheering herself hoarse next to him, and Xu Zhou shot her a disgruntled glare.
He had been about to keep watching when a teammate from his school injured his leg and had to leave the court—and it happened to be a friend of his. A few of them spotted Xu Zhou on the sidelines, and during the halftime break, they hauled him in.
Thrust into the situation unexpectedly, in the spirit of not disgracing Xu Zhou’s school—and for the vague, inexplicable competitive pride that lived in every man—he pulled himself together and took the game seriously, staying keenly alert.
The feeling on the court was completely different from watching from the stands. Xie Yichen’s playing style was actually fast and aggressive—every move packed with force. Going up against him head-on, Xu Zhou could barely hold his ground, and more than once could only grab the ball and scramble out of the way.
Xu Zhou was single-mindedly after the rebound, but in his eagerness he didn’t watch his footing, and as he came down he felt himself about to fall. With another player charging up behind him, if he went down, that person would land directly on the back of his head.
Xie Yichen was the closest. He reacted instantly and grabbed Xu Zhou—but in the chaos of the moment, it must have looked exactly like a deliberate grab to steal the ball from an opponent.
It was Gao Hua’s home court. The referee seemed to have gone blind and didn’t blow the whistle. No one in the entire crowd spoke up.
The players from Xu Zhou’s school were gnashing their teeth in fury. Xu Zhou thought—this person had, at the end of the day, grabbed him to keep him from falling. So he pressed a hand against his teammates’ chests and said: let it go this time.
Only for Xie Yichen to raise his arm and signal for a stop to play.
The whole court watched. The young man’s jersey rippled in the breeze. He was breathing slightly hard, and with a frank, steady gaze, he said: “I committed a foul.”
The thing was, his shot from that moment had gone in. On a basketball court as on a battlefield—every single point of difference was critical.
Xu Zhou asked himself: if he had been in Xie Yichen’s position just now, he would surely have swallowed those two points in silence, accepting the shelter of the crowd’s blind eye. At that moment, he felt something odd and unsettled stir inside him, though he couldn’t quite put a name to it.
Not everyone had that kind of integrity.
In the end they were still ground down by Gao Hua, and Xu Zhou’s school lost by a narrow margin. The defeat didn’t weigh as heavily as he’d expected. He was soaked in sweat and drinking water on a bench by the sideline.
That was when Xie Yichen walked over and sat down beside him.
The crowd hadn’t dispersed. The girls nearby kept glancing over with barely-disguised intentions—wanting to offer water but not quite daring. Xie Yichen casually wiped his face with a white towel, then after a moment gave Xu Zhou a relaxed pat on the shoulder. “Bro, be more careful next time. If you’d actually fallen just now, you’d be looking at half a month of recovery.”
Xu Zhou capped his bottle and said a cool thank you.
Internally, however, he thought with some reproach: stop acting so familiar—who the hell is your bro?