“Maybe… the aroma of the tea?” Fan Jun didn’t know how to answer.

The temperature of the skin on the side of Zou Yang’s neck still lingered on his lips; he could still feel the pulse beating gently beneath that scar, and the faint scent of Zou Yang was still in his breath.

“Maybe,” Zou Yang closed his eyes and said in a low voice.

Fan Jun grabbed a small blanket from the bed next to them and draped it over Zou Yang’s legs.

The second floor of the shop used to be a warehouse; He Chuan only installed an air conditioner after Fan Jun moved in. However, once the weather turned cold, turning on the AC didn’t do much for warmth, so Fan Jun also laid down an electric blanket.

But tonight, the second floor was exceptionally warm. There was the heat from the kettle, the aroma of the tea, and there was Zou Yang.

He would occasionally drink tea with He Chuan on the first floor, but leaning against the sofa by the window on the second floor, making and drinking tea and eating snacks at a small table like this—it was the first time.

He wasn’t very skilled at making tea. After all, he usually just watched He Chuan do it. He knew the process, but actually doing it was a different story, and his left hand wasn’t much help.

Plus, there was an indescribable awkwardness… no, it could be described, plus there was an unspoken but mutual awkwardness.

In short, he spilled water all over the table and had to keep wiping it with a tea towel.

He even burned his hand.

Although, because his fingers were a bit numb, he didn’t feel it much when he was burned.

“Let me do it,” Zou Yang watched for a long time before finally speaking up. “Are there still parts of your hand that don’t have much feeling?”

Fan Jun glanced at his hand; his fingertips were scalded red. He blew on his fingers: “Yeah.”

“So, are you still going to the hospital for rehab now?” Zou Yang took the gaiwan and started brewing tea.

His movements were very skilled and graceful; it was probably practiced from a young age putting on acts in front of his father.

“Yeah, three times a week. Normally, I also practice on my own every day according to the plan the doctor gave me,” Fan Jun flexed his fingers. “Now… it’s much better.”

Zou Yang looked at his hand without saying a word.

“Sister Shan said you have an exam in March?” Fan Jun changed the subject.

“Teacher certification,” Zou Yang said. “The four of us in our dorm are taking it together.”

“Are you going to be a teacher in the future?” Fan Jun looked at him, unable to quite imagine what Zou Yang would look like standing at a podium.

But Zou Yang was very smart; no matter what he did in the future, he would definitely have a bright future.

“Not necessarily. I’m just taking it since I can,” Zou Yang smiled. “My mom, though, has always felt that working in a school is more secure.”

Although he didn’t know how secure it was, whatever it was, it was definitely better than his own situation.

In the past, Fan Jun prayed every day that Lü Ze would stop messing around and work hard so the martial arts gym wouldn’t close down. Now, he hoped every day that the two Boss Hes wouldn’t spend all day playing around making incense and roasting tea, that they would run their business well, and that this shop wouldn’t close down…

Maybe others wouldn’t have as much pressure as him, but he truly had no way out.

When he was younger, he could rely on Uncle Lü. Now he was 24, an age when some people had already graduated with their master’s degrees…

“How many days off do you get a week?” Zou Yang poured him a cup of tea.

“One day,” Fan Jun said. “The schedule varies. Whenever there aren’t many customers, I take the day off.”

“Mhm,” Zou Yang thought for a moment. “Have you taken your day off this week?”

“No,” Fan Jun paused, turning his head to look at him. “Do you…”

“I’m going to see my dad tomorrow,” Zou Yang took a sip of tea. “If you want to take your day off, come with me.”

“Okay.” Fan Jun nodded. After thinking for a second, he smiled. “With your injury this time, didn’t your dad have to give…”

“I had a falling out with him,” Zou Yang said.

Fan Jun was stunned: “…Why?”

“I didn’t want to endure it anymore,” Zou Yang held the cup, turning it around and around. “He didn’t even want to pretend for a moment. That uncle caretaker my mom hired for me only worked for a few days, but even he asks how I’m doing when he runs into me…”

“Then does he still give you money now?” Fan Jun asked.

“He has to give whatever is in the divorce agreement,” Zou Yang leaned back and stretched. “He won’t give any extra. Now he’s not even pretending to be a loving father anymore.”

“I see,” Fan Jun smiled. “Are you going to smash his car again tomorrow?”

Zou Yang laughed and shot him a glance: “Did you actually find joy in smashing it?”

“Just asking.” Fan Jun took a sip of tea.

“I’m just going to ask for the money, and then leave right after,” Zou Yang pillowed his head on his arms. “You don’t need to wait outside. Come into his house with me.”

“Huh?” Fan Jun looked at him with some surprise.

“What is it.” Zou Yang looked back at him.

“Will he try to get physical with you?” Fan Jun asked.

“What are you thinking,” Zou Yang laughed. “He wouldn’t dare. Even without you here, he can’t beat me. I just… don’t want to pretend even a tiny bit anymore. He even used you to provoke my mom; why should I care about anything else?”

“He… knows?” Fan Jun asked with some difficulty. He and Zou Yang had never touched on this topic before.

“Yeah, he did come by once at the beginning, probably…” Zou Yang frowned as he spoke and didn’t continue.

Fan Jun didn’t press further. He just picked up his phone and sent He Chuan a message, telling him he would take tomorrow off.

[Former Chuan] The market just opened, there are a lot of people. I can’t handle running between several shops by myself.

[Fan] I won’t take a day off next week.

[Former Chuan] Half a day.

[Fan] One day.

[Former Chuan] Are you going out with Zou Yang?

Fan Jun stared at this line of text. He suddenly felt like he was back in the past, facing Uncle Lü’s questions.

[Fan] Yes.

It took a while before He Chuan replied.

[Former Chuan] Fine, but under one condition. Next week, you make a trip to Boss Li’s place, the one I told you about the other day.

[Fan] Okay.

Boss Li was a dealer of antiques and old items. His goods were in high demand, and every time he got new items, he would notify He Chuan to take a look first.

There wouldn’t be any danger at his place, but since the two of them had just made a trip there over the New Year, He Chuan didn’t want to go out again.

Previously, he had asked Fan Jun to go over, but Fan Jun was reluctant. Boss Li wasn’t an easy person to talk to. If He Chuan didn’t go, Fan Jun was just a lackey in Boss Li’s eyes. Sending a lackey over, Boss Li definitely wouldn’t give him a good attitude.

But right now, he could only agree. If he had to go, he’d go. The business wasn’t his anyway. If they couldn’t snag the goods, He Chuan could cry about it himself.

After finishing his conversation with He Chuan, he looked up at Zou Yang.

He found that Zou Yang seemed to have fallen asleep. His whole body was completely relaxed as he lay in the sofa, his head tilted back with his eyes closed.

Fan Jun checked the time. It was just past eleven o’clock. Maybe it was because they had drank a little wine…

He didn’t move, nor did he make a sound. He gently moved the table away from Zou Yang’s legs and leaned against the cushion beside him.

He couldn’t sleep. He originally had trouble sleeping anyway, let alone now.

He had originally thought that when they met again, he would have many things he wanted to say and ask. But when this moment actually arrived, he felt that on the surface, everything in Zou Yang’s life was proceeding as usual.

He went to school as usual, reviewed his studies as usual, and prepared for exams as usual.

But underneath this “as usual,” no one would know about those emotions. Zou Yang wouldn’t speak of them, and they were hard to describe.

Only when sitting beside Zou Yang could he sense them.

He kept looking at Zou Yang, listening to his breathing. Zou Yang’s sleeping posture was still the same as before. At first, it looked quite proper, but after a while, his legs wouldn’t know where to drape themselves.

He smiled, slowly scooted over to the bamboo lamp, and turned the light down to the dimmest setting.

Between going back to bed to sleep and continuing to sit close beside Zou Yang, he hesitated for three seconds, and then slowly scooted back to the side of the beanbag sofa.

But he didn’t sit down. Instead, he propped himself up on the floor, looking at Zou Yang’s face.

He hesitated over whether he should take off his glasses.

After waiting for a while, sensing that Zou Yang had indeed fallen asleep rather than just dozing off, he carefully leaned in and reached out to pinch the frame of the glasses.

Before he could take them off, Zou Yang’s breathing suddenly quickened, and then he abruptly opened his eyes.

Fan Jun was startled and fell straight back on his butt onto the floor.

Zou Yang stared at the ceiling, seemingly not having snapped back to reality yet.

“Zou Yang?” Fan Jun called him very softly.

“Yeah,” Zou Yang turned his head, held his glasses to adjust them, and only then did his vision find focus. “Did I shout?”

“You didn’t shout.” Fan Jun noticed his face was a bit pale and leaned closer to look. “Did you have a nightmare?”

“…Yeah,” Zou Yang frowned, taking off his glasses. As he rubbed his eyes, he tossed the glasses toward where the table had been just a moment ago. “But I can’t remember what I dreamed about anymore. I just felt like… I jumped off a building.”

Fan Jun picked up the glasses from the floor and placed them on the table nearby: “Jumped off a building?”

“Yeah.” Zou Yang nodded.

“Wasn’t that…” Fan Jun hesitated for a moment. “Me?”

Zou Yang looked at him, and after a moment, he suddenly started laughing: “Fuck.”

“What is it?” Fan Jun asked.

“Fan Jun,” Zou Yang looked at him while laughing, giving him a thumbs up. “I truly admire you.”

Fan Jun smiled but didn’t speak.

“I felt like I was shouting. I thought I was sleep-talking,” Zou Yang let out a breath. “It seems I’m not the type to sleep-talk.”

“Yeah.” Fan Jun poured a cup of warm water and handed it to him.

“Do you know?” Zou Yang took a sip of water and suddenly asked.

“What?” Fan Jun asked.

“When I was just admitted to the hospital and hadn’t woken up yet,” Zou Yang handed the cup back to him. “What exactly did I say?”

Fan Jun froze.

“Do you know?” Zou Yang looked at him. “You should know, right?”

“Yeah,” Fan Jun took the cup. “You… Sister Shan didn’t… this is… she probably wouldn’t tell you…”

“What exactly did I say?” Zou Yang asked.

“I…” Fan Jun didn’t quite know how to answer. He was afraid Zou Yang would die of embarrassment if he said it out loud.

“Huh?” Zou Yang propped himself up and looked at him. “You know, right? You definitely know. Uncle Lü definitely had to tell you.”

“Ah.” Fan Jun replied.

“So what did I say?” Zou Yang asked.

“You said…” Fan Jun randomly grabbed a cup from the table. “Love springs up out of nowhere, yet grows ever deeper…”

Zou Yang froze, staring at him for a long time: “Was I sick in the head?”

“Not sick, you were injured.” Fan Jun didn’t know what to say. He raised the cup to take a sip, but it was empty.

“Did I only say that one line?” Zou Yang asked.

“There was the rest of it,” Fan Jun gritted his teeth. “The living can die for it, and the dead can be reborn for it… maybe… at the time you were afraid Sister Shan would worry that you were going to die…”

“You’re pretty good at making excuses.” Zou Yang frowned. “Was it just that, out of nowhere? Was there anything else? I just suddenly recited a poem?”

“You recited more than one.” Fan Jun threw caution to the wind.

“What the fuck?” Zou Yang was shocked. “What else?”

“I wish to be the southwest wind, to pass away… into my lord’s embrace… or something like that.” Fan Jun felt like he was going to blush as he said it.

“Are you sure?” Zou Yang looked at him.

“In my whole life, all the poems I can remember, I heard from you,” Fan Jun said. “The first line was… I step forth, shocking the White Emperor of the West; the Ghost Mother wails in the autumn outskirts…”

Zou Yang felt his own face getting a bit hot. Was he hosting a poetry recital while in a coma? Who knows what other wild nonsense he might have spouted before and after, following up the wild nonsense with poetry recitation…

“Then how did my mom know it was about you?” Zou Yang found the main point amidst his shock.

Fan Jun squeezed the cup in his hand and didn’t speak.

“Did I say your name?” Zou Yang asked.

“…Yeah.” Fan Jun replied.

“Just give it to me straight,” Zou Yang said. “Don’t make me pull it out of you one sentence at a time. What else?”

“That’s basically it.” Fan Jun said.

“And the non-basic stuff?” Zou Yang continued asking.

Fan Jun silently stared at the cup in his hand. After a while, he finally said, “I heard that people who haven’t woken up from anesthesia all… talk nonsense.”

“And the non-basic stuff?” Zou Yang still asked.

Fan Jun went silent.

Zou Yang kicked him: “Hey!”

“You said you were going to marry Fan Jun, and asked Sister Shan to forgive you,” Fan Jun spoke very quickly, then turned around very slowly to pour himself a cup of tea.

“What… the hell?” Zou Yang was truly shocked. With this level of severity, he wasn’t just not awake from the anesthesia; he was poisoned…

He looked at Fan Jun, not knowing what to say for a long time.

“So my mom took these words and went to ask Uncle Lü, right?” He lay back down in the beanbag sofa. Suddenly, he felt a thrill of both embarrassment and overwhelming relief.

“Yeah.” Fan Jun nodded.

“And then Uncle Lü asked you.” Zou Yang closed his eyes.

“He asked Lü Ze first. I hadn’t woken up yet at that time,” Fan Jun said. “In the end, it was Lü Ze who came to ask me.”

“Damn… what a huge circle,” Zou Yang couldn’t help but laugh. “A public execution.”

Fan Jun smiled along with him.

“It’s fine,” Zou Yang clicked his tongue. “It’ll save trouble later.”

“…Yeah,” Fan Jun agreed.

Zou Yang didn’t speak anymore. He was relieved, yes, but it was also true that he suddenly felt incredibly embarrassed.

He draped his arm over his eyes. He hadn’t felt it just a moment ago, but now that the room was quiet, the delayed reaction hit him intensely. He absolutely didn’t dare to look at Fan Jun again.

His only option was to fake sleep.

Fan Jun didn’t know what state he was in, but in any case, he didn’t make any movements either.

It was a long time before he was heard softly getting up and lying down on the bed next to him.

After another while, he spoke up: “If you need to use the bathroom, it’s the door next to the bottom of the stairs.”

Zou Yang was faking sleep, so he held out and didn’t make a sound. Besides, he didn’t want to use the bathroom right now anyway.

This beanbag sofa was quite comfortable; lying on it supported his lower back firmly. Under normal circumstances, he should be able to fall asleep within ten minutes of closing his eyes. Even if he had nightmares later, it wouldn’t affect him falling asleep.

But it felt like it had been more than ten minutes, and he still hadn’t fallen asleep.

His mind was a messy jumble, full of all sorts of imaginations of himself spouting that wild nonsense.

He had just blurted it out like that. Not only had he said it, he had said it with… absolutely no room left for interpretation.

When Fan Jun heard about the things he had said, especially when he heard them from Lü Ze’s mouth, how did he feel?

Zou Yang couldn’t help but roll over. This was too embarrassing.

Fan Jun probably wasn’t asleep either. Under the silent moonlight, both of them were knowingly pretending to be asleep.

An hour later, Zou Yang couldn’t keep faking it anymore. He sat up: “I’m going to the bathroom.”

“I’ll take you.” Fan Jun sat up as he spoke.

“The door below the stairs,” Zou Yang stood up and walked out. “Could I possibly get lost?”

“The stairs are steep, be careful.” Fan Jun didn’t follow.

“Mhm.” Zou Yang grabbed the handrail next to him.

When he came out of the bathroom, he finally felt sleepy. Returning to the small room, he found Fan Jun still sitting on the bed.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?” Zou Yang asked.

“I’m also…” Fan Jun got up. “Going to the bathroom.”

“Oh.” Zou Yang acknowledged, walking over to the beanbag sofa.

“Do you want to sleep on the bed?” Fan Jun asked.

“I’m fine sleeping on this, it’s comfortable.” Zou Yang quickly lay down on the sofa and closed his eyes.

After Fan Jun went out, he let out a soft sigh.

Tch.

Fortunately, not long after Fan Jun returned to the room, he fell asleep. It was probably from overthinking.

When he woke up in the morning, it wasn’t naturally; he was woken up by various noises all around.

Outside the window on the street, there were the continuous sounds of rolling shutters being opened, people talking, the sound of flatbed carts carrying goods rolling by, and the sound of He Chuan talking downstairs.

In this environment, probably even someone with Fan Jun’s hearing wouldn’t necessarily be able to sleep until they woke up naturally.

Zou Yang came down the stairs yawning. When He Chuan saw him, he pointed to the tea table over there: “Eat breakfast. It was made at my house.”

“Thank you,” Zou Yang suddenly felt a bit guilty. “I’ll… wash up first.”

“I put out a new set. You can use that.” Fan Jun said.

“Okay.” Zou Yang nodded.

The breakfast from He Chuan’s house was quite delicious. There were steamed buns and sugar flatbreads. It was very fragrant, and just smelling it made him feel hungry.

“Here.” He Chuan placed a set of car keys in front of Fan Jun.

“You’re driving?” Zou Yang looked up at Fan Jun.

“Yeah, Boss He’s car,” Fan Jun nodded. “Is there… a place to park over there?”

“There’s a spot. Just park next to my dad’s car. He has two parking spaces. If both cars are there, just block the front of his car.” Zou Yang said.

“Okay,” Fan Jun smiled.

“So arrogant.” He Chuan shot him a glance.

It was just this arrogant. Even though he had already torn away the disguise in front of his dad and could be considered to have vented his anger, going to ask for money once a month was still a very unpleasant thing.

Every time, it made him feel suffocated.

So today, he was going to make his dad feel suffocated too.

His dad had probably already seen Fan Jun through the peephole before opening the door. The moment the door opened, Zou Yang could see his tightly knit brows.

“You…”

“I said yesterday I was coming over early in the morning.” Zou Yang walked right in.

“I know.” His dad glanced at Fan Jun standing behind him. He seemed to want to say something, but held back.

“Come in.” Zou Yang turned his head and said to Fan Jun.

“What do you want to do?” His dad lowered his voice.

“Wish you a happy New Year, ask for money.” Zou Yang smiled and also said in a low voice, “If you had been willing to just transfer the money directly, we wouldn’t have this trouble now.”

“Happy New Year, Uncle.” Fan Jun entered the room.