Dou Sheng looked at He Xiu, who was lying in Xie Lan’s friend list, and fell into a state of numbness.

After a long while, he hesitantly comforted Xie Lan, “Just pushing this business card doesn’t actually prove anything…”

Xie Lan said coolly, “He repeatedly urged me to chat with He Xiu, using that kind of… anyway, it was Old Ma’s gaze, do you understand?”

“…I understand.”

Dou Sheng had a look of doubt about life on his face, “It’s strange, we are so low-key, how did they all find out?”

Xie Lan stared at him, “Brother, are you sure we are very low-key?”

“Well… but Old Ma’s attitude suggests he won’t give us trouble. I reckon he’s well-traveled and knowledgeable; we still have to thank the seniors for blazing the trail…” As Dou Sheng spoke, he continued walking out, then suddenly asked in a low voice, “Then tell me, why didn’t my mom have any reaction?”

Xie Lan paused, looking a bit dazed. “Auntie Zhao… Auntie Zhao doesn’t come home often, and those videos look a lot like intentional jokes.”

“True.” Dou Sheng sighed, “It’s best that way.”

They found a random restaurant for dinner. Just as they entered the house after eating, Zhao Wenying’s call came through.

“Lan Lan, you’re amazing! I heard from Teacher Ma, first in the whole province for the first trial! First in the province! I wouldn’t even dare to dream of it. Douzi looks like a slacker compared to you.” Zhao Wenying said briskly, “I’m so busy over here I feel like I’m splitting apart, but as soon as I heard this news, whoosh, I felt refreshed—even the clients look friendlier! I bought you many gifts. Oh right, I heard from your dad that he’s coming over?”

Xie Lan hummed in response, “He’s just coming to see me. He arrives tomorrow at noon and leaves the day after tomorrow in the evening.”

“The train is at 11 PM the day after tomorrow, he mentioned it,” Zhao Wenying said immediately. “I definitely have to meet him; it’s been so many years. Oh right, I’m flying back the day after tomorrow afternoon, so the four of us will have dinner together that night. I’ve re-booked your restaurant for tomorrow noon; let Douzi swipe my card, I’ll send you the info in a bit.”

Dou Sheng came in from outside carrying a pile of delivery boxes. Hearing this, he rested the boxes on the back of the sofa, took the phone, and said, “Your son is second in the province, did you know?”

Zhao Wenying’s excitement hit a sudden brake, “Where did you pop out from?”

“With that voice of yours, what phone could possibly contain it?” Dou Sheng curled his lip. “What about my birthday gift? My birthday was half a month ago. Are you coming back or not?”

“Coming back, I’m coming back the day after tomorrow.” Zhao Wenying sighed, her tone softening, “This order was a bit big, but luckily I landed it. Think carefully about what gift you want. Mom promises you, I won’t go on business trips for two months after coming home this time.”

Hearing this, Dou Sheng gave a light scoff, “I don’t have that demand.”

The call ended. Xie Lan hesitated, “Auntie Zhao said she wants to eat with my dad.”

“Then let them eat.” Dou Sheng opened the delivery boxes one by one; they were all uniforms for recording videos. “It’s best if she comes. She’ll handle all the chatting; we won’t have to worry about anything.”

Xie Lan was stunned for a moment, “Is that how you’re looking at it?”

Dou Sheng looked up and asked, “How else?”

True.

Actually, Xie Lan couldn’t quite explain it; he just had a vague sense of tension weighing on him.

He carefully checked tomorrow’s train times and hotel information, tossing and turning until nearly midnight before finally lying down.

Just as the light was turned off, the door slid open on its own.

“Meow—”

Wutong whimpered as it trotted in through the crack in the door and hopped onto the bed with a thud.

However, the door wasn’t opened by the cat. The person who opened it stood at the doorway and asked with a smile, “Going to sleep?”

Xie Lan gave a dry “Ah.”

In the pitch black, he struggled to make out Dou Sheng’s silhouette and noticed he was clutching a pillow under his arm.

Dou Sheng said in a low voice, “May I ask, can I deliver myself to accompany you in sleep?”

Before Xie Lan’s brain could process it, Dou Sheng lifted his quilt and lay down matter-of-factly.

The bed creaked. Xie Lan had no choice but to move inward to make room.

Dou Sheng whispered, “Thank you, boyfriend.”

“…”

Dou Sheng occupied Wutong’s spot by the pillow. Wutong had to walk from the head of the bed to the foot, cautiously stepping over their feet. After hesitating for a long time, it finally lay down between their calves. It was a tight squeeze.

Dou Sheng suddenly moved his leg and accidentally kicked it through the quilt. Wutong got up again, moved further up, and lay back down.

After a while, Xie Lan held the quilt and carefully turned over beneath it.

“Meow-ow—” Wutong got up dissatisfied, stepped over Xie Lan’s leg to the corner of the bed, and leaped—jumping onto the desk to sleep.

“What a disobedient child,” Dou Sheng whispered behind Xie Lan. “I let it come to keep watch, and it’s got quite a temper.”

Xie Lan paused, unable to resist reminding him, “I used to think of it as your cat form.”

“…” Dou Sheng hissed, “Are you picking a fight?”

Xie Lan didn’t say a word, secretly smiling with his eyes closed.

The sound of the quilt and pajamas rubbing together rustled behind him. Dou Sheng’s breath drew closer; he reached out from behind to embrace Xie Lan, rubbing his chin against Xie Lan’s shoulder.

“It’s hard for me to sleep like this,” Xie Lan said sincerely.

Dou Sheng’s hand rested on his hip, poking him mischievously, “If you’re not sleeping, what do you want to do?”

“…”

Under the quilt, though there was no direct contact, Xie Lan felt his boyfriend’s body outline was all too clear. So clear that without turning around, he knew Dou Sheng was pressed against his back, knees bent, tucked into the hollow of his own knees.

He swallowed hard, closing his eyes to try and sleep.

A moment later, Dou Sheng’s legs grew restless again, his knee lifting and bumping against Xie Lan’s backside.

Xie Lan was suddenly “ignited.” He flipped over, his long legs sweeping out to firmly pin Dou Sheng’s legs down, and snapped, “What exactly do you want to do?”

“What did I do?” Dou Sheng’s tone was one of mock shock, “Are you going to sleep or not?”

“Keep pretending.” Xie Lan rolled his eyes in the darkness. “Otherwise, go back to your own room.”

“Hiss—” Dou Sheng suddenly pulled his legs out from under Xie Lan’s. “Little Xie Lan, you have quite a temper.”

As he spoke, he flipped over to pin Xie Lan down. Xie Lan immediately raised his other leg to intercept him mid-air, but Dou Sheng simply got up and straddled Xie Lan without a word, pulling Xie Lan’s wrists behind his back in a gentle but skillful twist. Xie Lan, caught off guard, plunged his face into the soft pillow. Just as he managed to lift his head, Dou Sheng had already caught both his hands behind his back, locking his wrists so he couldn’t move.

Dou Sheng pressed one knee against the base of Xie Lan’s thigh, “Can’t handle you?”

“…Get the hell off me.” Xie Lan’s face was pressed against the pillow, his hair a mess. “You want to fight?”

“Fight my ass.” Dou Sheng gave a low hum, let go of his hands, and leaned down to kiss him lightly on the cheek.

A “mwah” sound echoed clearly in the quiet room.

“I just wanted to kiss my boyfriend.” After the kiss, Dou Sheng rolled off him contentedly and reached out to ruffle his hair. “Letting a certain little kid, who is stressed out because a parent is coming, take a breather. Don’t just keep scaring yourself.”

Xie Lan sighed, turned over to lie flat, and smoothed the hair sticking to his cheek.

“Still brooding?” Dou Sheng said in surprise. “Did that little scuffle just now not clear your head at all?”

Xie Lan slanted a glance at him, “What do you think? I’ve stopped thinking about my dad and started thinking about other things. Can you stop looking for trouble?”

“Feeling restless, aren’t you?” Dou Sheng sighed, “I am too, a little.”

Dou Sheng took Xie Lan’s hand under the quilt and scooted closer to him until their shoulders touched.

It was a bit bumpy, but having that contact made them feel more at ease.

Xie Lan suddenly said, “Do you think He Xiu and his boyfriend are completely out and together now?”

Dou Sheng gave a hum of agreement, “Looks like it. After all, they are two college students who can do as they please. When we go to college together next year, we’ll probably be even more blatant. Oh, I don’t want to live in a dorm; I want to rent a small apartment near the school and cordially invite my boyfriend to live with me.”

Going to college together next year.

Words spoken lightly, yet taken for granted.

Xie Lan couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile. Holding Dou Sheng’s hand, he turned toward him and said, “Time to sleep.”

…

The next morning, Xie Lan was woken up by the cat. He opened his eyes—10:11.

The train arrives at 11:00.

The alarm was set for 9:00, but neither of them heard it.

The quilt was all on Xie Lan’s side; Dou Sheng was huddled under a tiny corner, his head stuffed under the pillow, sleeping in a state of total chaos.

Wutong was perched on the bedside table, staring at them with a serious and dignified expression.

Xie Lan sat up abruptly and shook Dou Sheng awake, “We’re late!”

Taking a taxi from the east side to the north station, they sprinted all the way to the arrival gate. Xie Lan slammed on the brakes.

Caught off guard, Dou Sheng literally flew past him and had to turn back.

“What’s wrong?” Dou Sheng asked, “Your dad’s train just pulled in, right? G-what-was-it-again?”

Xie Lan tugged hard on his sleeve and tilted his chin toward a man not far away.

“My dad,” he said in a low voice.

Xie Jingming was pulling a large suitcase, standing by a pillar at the exit. He wore a light grey short-sleeved shirt, stood very straight, and had a leather-strapped watch on his wrist, giving off a sophisticated scholar vibe.

He looked up and saw Xie Lan, a hint of a smile appearing in his eyes as he pulled the suitcase toward them.

Dou Sheng gave a “tsk,” “Your dad is a bit different from what I imagined.”

Xie Lan asked, “Different how?”

“Not as rigid as I thought…” Dou Sheng paused, “But he doesn’t look much like you.”

Xie Lan replied hurriedly, “I look like my mom.”

When they met face-to-face, Xie Lan called out “Dad” and reached for Xie Jingming’s suitcase.

Before he could touch it, Xie Jingming naturally switched the suitcase to his other hand, “No need, you kids can’t carry this. Have you called a taxi?”

Xie Lan gave a somewhat unnatural “um” and pointed to the side, “Let’s go this way.”

Xie Jingming gave a casual nod and turned to look at Dou Sheng, smiling, “You must be Douzi, right?”

“Hello, Uncle.” Dou Sheng glanced at the suitcase in his hand, “You brought so many things?”

Xie Jingming said, “I brought the things Xie Lan didn’t have time to take before, and gifts for both of you. Should we go to the restaurant first or drop the things off at your place?”

“The restaurant is quite close to the hotel we booked for you.” Dou Sheng smiled, “Let’s talk after lunch.”

Xie Jingming nodded, “That works too.”

The sun was scorching, and the three of them didn’t talk much along the way.

In the car, Dou Sheng sat in the passenger seat giving directions to the driver, while Xie Lan and Xie Jingming sat in the back. Xie Lan kept his eyes down, but from the corner of his eye, he observed Xie Jingming’s form.

Six months without seeing him, Xie Jingming had lost some weight—not a sagging thinness, but a lean look from moderate exercise; he also looked much younger.

These clothes were different from his previous style—likely bought by Elizabeth—and he had changed his phone too.

“Xie Lan,” Xie Jingming called softly.

Xie Lan looked up, “Yeah?”

“You have nothing to say to your father?” Xie Jingming’s tone was serious, “Auntie Zhao called me last night and said you did quite well in the first trial.”

Xie Lan hummed, “I’m preparing for the second trial now.”

“How confident are you about the second trial?” Xie Jingming asked.

“Not much different from the first,” Xie Lan said, then paused, hesitating.

He didn’t know if Xie Jingming could sense how stiff his Chinese was. On the phone, a few sentences here and there were okay, but meeting in person immediately exposed that awkwardness.

Xie Jingming was still watching him, so Xie Lan had to offer a perfunctory sentence: “Domestic math competitions and the AMC are equivalent, so…”

“Then I understand.” Xie Jingming nodded immediately. “The top-ranking people train together, and then they select the Chinese team? When is your early admission?”

Before Xie Lan could reply, Dou Sheng interrupted with a smile, “He’ll take the admission exam after the second trial. People from T University are already keeping an eye on Xie Lan. By the way, Uncle Xie, look at the menu—see if you’d like to eat at this place?”

As he spoke, he handed over the phone, and Xie Jingming had to set the topic aside for a moment.

“I’m happy to eat anything, it’s up to you.” Xie Jingming said as he scrolled through the menu, “Nothing spicy, right?”

Dou Sheng said flatly, “Xie Lan doesn’t eat spicy food.”

Xie Jingming nodded, “It’s a very high-end restaurant; you two kids know how to find a place.”

This Chinese restaurant was the only Michelin two-star in H City, with an average cost per person of over a thousand yuan.

Xie Jingming had been rooted in London for many years and was well-off, but he was accustomed to being frugal and didn’t like extravagant spending. Xie Lan explained to him, “It’s our first time eating here too; Auntie Zhao booked it yesterday.”

Xie Jingming patted his leg and said to Dou Sheng, “Wenyying is doing quite well in China, isn’t she?”

“She is.” Dou Sheng took back his phone and casually clicked on Weibo to reply to a few comments. “It’s just that she’s always running around; it’s quite exhausting.”

Xie Jingming was somewhat moved by this, “Indeed, it’s not easy.”

The taxi sped onto the highway and, ten minutes later, crossed the river bridge.

Xie Jingming looked out the window with a sigh, “The last time I was back was fourteen years ago. The change is so huge. Xie Lan, do you have any memory of how it used to be here?”

Xie Lan got annoyed as soon as he heard such nonsense, “I left when I was three, what kind of impression could I have?”

Xie Jingming glanced at him helplessly, “Why are you so easily ‘ignited’? Oh, do you know the phrase ‘easily ignited’? It’s a metaphor about your temper…”

“I know what it means.” Xie Lan turned away gloomily. “I’ve been back for half a year; my Chinese is smoother than yours.”

Xie Jingming laughed, “It’s just that your old man hasn’t spoken it in a long time. There’s nothing to be proud of in that.”

Of course there is.

Xie Lan thought expressionlessly: I have level ten Chinese and I’m proud of it. I can say tongue twisters, recite the periodic table in Chinese, and write classical prose from memory. Can you?

Xie Jingming, stared into silence by him, lowered the car window halfway.

The wind rushed in, and a faint scent of women’s perfume drifted out. It was light, but its presence was strong in the small cabin.

Xie Jingming seemed to realize something and rolled the window back up.

“Where is she?” Xie Lan finally couldn’t help but ask.

Xie Jingming looked at him steadily, “In S City, she wanted to go see the museums herself.”

Hearing this, Xie Lan instinctively wanted to press further, but the words reached his lips and he swallowed them back down.

Actually, he wanted to know what Xie Jingming’s plans were—they had been living together for so long, were they going to get married soon, would they… have more children in the future, and so on.

But he felt very lost and couldn’t speak up. For one, a taxi wasn’t the right place to talk, and for another, he couldn’t figure out his own thoughts.

“Er-Mao.” Dou Sheng suddenly turned around and scratched his leg, “Check Weibo, Auntie ‘Hit the Dou-zi’ made a hilarious meme.”

Xie Lan snapped back to reality, said “Ah,” and pulled out his phone.

The first thing on his feed was from Auntie ‘Hit the Dou-zi.’ Last week, when he went in to get a water glass during Dou Sheng’s gaming stream and stood behind him to drink, she had screenshotted it.

Everything had been natural at the time, but he didn’t know how the screenshot was taken—Dou Sheng’s back was straight and his gaze was serious, as if the person standing behind him wasn’t Xie Lan, but their teacher Hu Xiujie.

The caption on the meme: 【Be dignified, the wife is here!】

Xie Lan couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth. He was about to laugh when he suddenly remembered Xie Jingming was right there and came to a screeching halt.

Xie Jingming asked with a smile, “What are you looking at?”

“Weibo.” Xie Lan turned off the screen nonchalantly, “It’s similar to Twitter.”

Xie Jingming nodded immediately, “I know about Weibo. By the way, which site did your Auntie Zhao say you’re a YouTuber on now?”

“Bilibili.” Xie Lan looked at him, “Here they are called UPs, not YouTubers.”

Just as Xie Jingming was about to follow up, Xie Lan stopped looking at him. He gripped the passenger seat and leaned forward, “Are you going to record a video later?”

“I’ll record a few short clips with my phone,” Dou Sheng said. “This place has a few ‘internet-famous’ dishes with funny presentations. I’ll just post a few updates to keep up my activity level.”

Xie Jingming asked, “Is Douzi on that site too?”

Dou Sheng hummed, “Bilibili.”

“What a name.” Xie Jingming laughed, “Is there an ‘A-site’ then?”

“No.” Xie Lan frowned, speechless, “Can you not tell cold jokes?”

As soon as he said it, Dou Sheng said, “There is an ‘A-site’ (AcFun).”

“Oh?” Xie Jingming sat up straight, his tone pleasant, “So there really is an A-site?”

Xie Lan: “…”

He glared coldly at the side of Dou Sheng’s face from behind.

Whose side are you on anyway?

Dou Sheng seemed to sense the threat and quickly changed his tune, “But it seems like it’s about to go bankrupt? It’s as good as gone.”

“So there isn’t one,” Xie Lan said immediately.

Hearing this, Dou Sheng turned back and winked at him, “Everything you say is right. If you say there isn’t, then there isn’t.”

Xie Lan pretended to glare, but after a moment, he retracted his gaze, only to find Xie Jingming looking at him seriously.

“…” He silently swallowed and went back to poking at his phone.

Xie Jingming tapped his hand on the window sill, “How are you two getting along? You suddenly moved into Douzi’s house; you must have caused a lot of trouble for them, right?”

“No trouble at all.” Dou Sheng said nonchalantly, “I was getting bored by myself anyway. Xie Lan coming over was just right. Right, Xie Lan?”

Xie Lan glanced at him and gave an “Ah.”

The restaurant environment was excellent, designed like a classic Suzhou garden. With streams crossing under platforms and the sound of bubbling water, a misty atmosphere drifted from behind the rockeries—the ambiance was top-notch.

Xie Jingming followed the server leading the way, while Dou Sheng and Xie Lan were behind. Dou Sheng was recording a short video with his phone, explaining to the camera, “Er-Mao’s dad is here. We brought him to a restaurant we usually can’t afford.”

Hearing this, Xie Jingming turned back, “Is ‘Er-Mao’ Xie Lan’s name?”

“Ah.” Xie Lan suddenly felt guilty, “It’s the Chinese name our Chinese teacher gave me.”

The moment he said it, he wanted to bite his tongue off. Dou Sheng’s hand also shook, nearly dropping his phone into the rockery pond.

Xie Jingming frowned in confusion, “You have a first and last name, why do you need another name?”

Xie Lan laughed awkwardly, his hand behind Dou Sheng’s back, poking his boyfriend’s waist hard.

Dou Sheng immediately chimed in, “Domestic teachers are all like that. English teachers love giving domestic students English names, and Chinese teachers love giving students from abroad Chinese names. It’s just for fun.”

Xie Jingming gave an “oh” and asked casually, “Then did the English teacher give you an English name?”

“Yes,” Dou Sheng said immediately, “My name is ‘Lovely Dou-zi’.”

“…”

The smile froze on Xie Jingming’s face. It took a long time before he gave a dry laugh, “That’s… quite cute.”

“Isn’t it?” Dou Sheng smiled nonchalantly, “You see, you and my English teacher have reached a consensus.”

Xie Jingming: “…”

Xie Lan: “…”

Xie Jingming was a bit dazed and continued following the server inside.

They had booked a private room that looked like a pavilion on a small suspension bridge. Xie Jingming sat down, Xie Lan sat opposite him, and Dou Sheng naturally squeezed in next to Xie Lan.

Xie Jingming glanced at them but said nothing, only taking the hot towel from the server to wipe his hands.

Dou Sheng was filming the mist outside with his phone. Xie Lan said casually, “Save two clips for me to post; I need to keep up my activity too.”

“Your wish is my command,” Dou Sheng said.

Xie Jingming sighed, “The competition isn’t even over yet, and all you think about is posting videos.”

Xie Lan felt a wave of disappointment, “My update frequency on Bilibili is already much lower than it was on YouTube.”

Xie Jingming looked down at the menu, “Being a YouTuber has no meaning to begin with. If you had spent that time on math back then, wouldn’t it have been better to take the AMC a year earlier?”

“My being a YouTuber has no meaning?” Xie Lan’s tone suddenly turned cold, “Don’t you know why I became a YouTuber?”

“I know, but looking at the end result…” Xie Jingming suddenly stopped himself. “Forget it, arguing won’t lead to a conclusion.”

Xie Lan gave him a cold look, lowered his head, and stopped talking as he fiddled with his phone.

Dou Sheng uploaded the short video and suddenly gave a leisurely “tsk.” “Uncle Xie, I feel it’s quite meaningful. I actually came through watching SilentWaves’ videos. Xie Lan saved my life.”

The moment the words fell, Xie Lan looked up abruptly, staring at him in horror: Are you crazy?

Dou Sheng gave him a dashing smile: Not crazy.

Xie Jingming said in surprise, “You watched Xie Lan’s old videos? When?”

“I watched them during the two years my dad had his accident. Xie Lan was my idol. When I went to pick him up at the airport in February, I picked up my idol directly.” Dou Sheng smiled very innocently. “Uncle, since you’re here, would you like to take the opportunity to learn about the past when I went crazy for SilentWaves on the foreign internet?”

Xie Lan: “?”

Xie Jingming was stunned for a long time before putting down the menu, “Sure, tell me about it.”

Xie Lan: “…”