“Yeah.” Zou Yang nodded. “He mentioned the other day that this one looked good on me. I was worried he wouldn’t like it if I got him something else.”

“I like it too,” Liu Wenrui said immediately.

“Didn’t your birthday just pass?” Zou Yang shot him a glance.

“Ah, yeah, so what?” Liu Wenrui said. “You didn’t give me a bracelet either.”

“What did I give you?” Zou Yang asked.

“A watch,” Liu Wenrui said.

Zou Yang looked at him without speaking.

“…Fine, the watch was more expensive than this,” Liu Wenrui admitted. “But you don’t wear a watch either.”

“Next year, before your birthday, take a look at what I have on me. If there’s anything you want, I’ll buy it for you,” Zou Yang sighed.

Liu Wenrui immediately pulled out his phone, pointed the camera at him, and hit record: “Say that again.”

“Next year, before your birthday, see if there’s anything I’m wearing that you want, and I’ll buy you the exact same one,” Zou Yang said.

“OK.” Liu Wenrui flashed him a hand gesture.

“Sorry to interrupt,” the salesperson walked over holding a tray with two boxes of small beads. “We’re completely sold out of pre-made bracelets. Would you like to pick out some beads and DIY one?”

“I don’t know how,” Zou Yang answered crisply. Stringing beads? The only thing he knew how to put on was clothes.

“What a waste of such nice-looking fingers,” Liu Wenrui tutted twice. “Let’s pick the beads out first. Can you guys string them for us?”

“Yes, we can, but there’s a small crafting fee,” the salesperson said.

“Sure.” Zou Yang nodded.

Liu Wenrui leaned over the table with him, and they began picking out beads one by one.

“Get the smaller beads, something similar in size to the ones on my wrist,” Zou Yang instructed. “If they’re too big, it’ll look like those prayer beads my dad plays with.”

“Yeah,” Liu Wenrui nodded. He slipped the bracelet off Zou Yang’s wrist and placed it in the tray to use as a reference while picking. “Are you still going to visit your bead-playing dad this afternoon?”

“Yeah.” Zou Yang pushed up his glasses.

“What if he hasn’t come back yet?” Liu Wenrui said. “Looks like he’s out celebrating Children’s Day for you-know-who.”

“He probably won’t be early. I’ll head over a bit later,” Zou Yang said.

“Just tell him you waited outside for three hours,” Liu Wenrui suggested.

Zou Yang glanced at him. “Acting requires logic, too.”

“If it were me, I probably wouldn’t even go,” Liu Wenrui sighed. “So suffocating.”

“This brings in money faster than a part-time job,” Zou Yang said. “Once I graduate and start working, I won’t go anymore.”

“Is it really just for the money?” Liu Wenrui leaned in closer.

“What else?” Zou Yang poked his cheek with a finger, pushing his face away.

“Obviously out of spite!” Liu Wenrui said. “If I’m happy, the world is happy. If I’m unhappy, everyone suffers together!”

Zou Yang didn’t reply; he just picked up a bead and examined it.

Once they had enough beads, Zou Yang meticulously checked them again, one by one.

While the salesperson helped string the beads, Zou Yang wandered over to Li Zhiyue’s counter. He was currently picking out a small gold zodiac charm for a bracelet.

The tray was filled with various tiny gold charms that could be threaded onto a bracelet—little animals, flowers, and the like.

Zou Yang couldn’t help but lean over to take a look. “Do you have… a Yazi?”

“A duck?” The salesperson misunderstood. “We have little chicks, and all the zodiac animals.”

“Yazi, the second of the dragon’s nine sons,” Li Zhiyue clarified for the salesperson, then turned to look at Zou Yang. “What do you want that for?”

“A birthday gift for Fan Jun,” Liu Wenrui chimed in from the side.

“Fan Jun’s zodiac sign is the Yazi?” Zhang Chuanlong asked, not even lifting his head from his own picking.

“His zodiac sign is your uncle,” Zou Yang used his finger to search through the tray as well. Asking for a Yazi really was a bit of a stretch. “A dog works too. Do you have dogs? A Doberman.”

The request for a Doberman wasn’t much more reasonable.

“Um…” the salesperson said, a bit helplessly. “No, but we have a big-eared dog.”

“A big-eared dog doesn’t suit him either,” Zou Yang thought for a moment. “What about a cat?”

“We do have cats,” the salesperson nodded. “We have regular little cats, and also cat paws.”

“Please help me find a cat paw,” Zou Yang said. “My eyes are going blurry from looking.”

“Your astigmatism must be getting worse,” Liu Wenrui said. “You’ve been straining your eyes a lot lately.”

“That was a figure of speech,” Zou Yang sighed. “Why don’t you just drop out of school?”

In the end, they settled on a small gold tube shaped like a cat’s paw, stringing it right in the middle of the beads.

Zou Yang tried it on. It looked beautiful.

“Is the length okay?” the salesperson asked. “It can still be adjusted.”

“It’s perfect like this. It’ll fit his wrist just right,” Zou Yang said.

“You even know his wri—” Liu Wenrui started, then paused and nodded. “Right, you’ve grabbed his wrist before.”

Li Zhiyue picked out a resplendent gold box for his mother’s gift. Zou Yang hesitated in front of several options for a long time before finally choosing a very simple, unadorned, wood-colored box.

Walking out of the store, Zou Yang felt a significant weight lift off his shoulders.

He stretched lazily.

“Are you going to get that Lu Ze a birthday gift?” Liu Wenrui asked.

“Why would I give him a gift? Who does he think he is?” Zou Yang said.

“Your stepfather’s son, your mom’s stepson, your stepbrother. Strictly speaking, you’re closer to him than to Fan Jun,” Liu Wenrui pointed out.

“Did I give you a birthday gift because you’re my stepson?” Zou Yang asked.

“If you put it that way… I understand, Daddy,” Liu Wenrui realized suddenly. “It really just comes down to being close enough.”

Although the explanation made perfect sense, Zou Yang suddenly felt a bit awkward.

If Liu Wenrui hadn’t phrased it like that, he wouldn’t have overthought it.

But he did ask.

Logically, if something was truly reasonable, there shouldn’t be any room for doubt…

Zou Yang nodded: “Come on, let’s go check out that market outside.”

“What kind of market is it?” Zhang Chuanlong asked.

“Coffee or something, I think,” Li Zhiyue said.

“Drinking again…”

It was indeed a coffee market, complete with a live band.

It was bustling. Music blared from the coffee stalls while the band sang next to them; not a single song was in tune, all blending together into a chaotic noise.

Zou Yang held up his phone and recorded a short video.

He opened Fan Jun’s chat window to send it to him, but hesitated for a moment and ultimately canceled it.

Given Fan Jun’s hearing, he probably wasn’t well-suited for such a noisy environment.

Actually, perhaps it wasn’t just about his hearing. Fan Jun as a person didn’t seem like he could easily blend into this kind of lively atmosphere. Whenever there were slightly more people around, it felt like he might just vanish into thin air.

His chat history with Fan Jun still ended at the “transfer to manual service” joke from that day.

Ever since the guy told him to study hard and book a class only after finishing his CET-4 exams, he hadn’t contacted him again.

It was quite decisive.

So decisive that it was almost a bit awkward.

And a bit frustrating.

Zou Yang shoved his phone back into his pocket.

It was obvious, though, that Fan Jun viewed college students (aside from Lu Ze) through a rose-tinted lens; he took Zou Yang’s exam prep much more seriously than Zou Yang did himself.

Thinking of this, beneath his annoyance, Zou Yang inexplicably felt a pang of sadness.

The group wandered around until noon. Zou Yang treated them to a meal that claimed to be “local fusion cuisine” but was actually just every dish cooked poorly.

By the afternoon, the group’s shopping spirits fully awakened. From inside the mall to the outside streets, they went into every store that looked even remotely interesting, tugging at clothes to inspect them, and picking up anything that wasn’t explicitly marked “do not touch”…

After fooling around outside their ivory tower for the whole day, they finally decided to head back to campus, still wanting more but physically exhausted.

“Let’s go with Zou Yang to…” Liu Wenrui started.

“No need,” Zou Yang interrupted him. “I’ll go by myself. I’m afraid you guys will drop dead on the way.”

“What are you saying? Are we really that weak?” Li Zhiyue protested.

“Yes,” Zou Yang nodded.

Just as he was looking around to find a shared bike to scan, his phone rang.

He took it out and glanced at the screen. Surprisingly, it was his dad.

He held up his index finger to the group and answered the call: “Hello, Dad.”

Several of them simultaneously leaned in close to his phone to listen.

“Xiao Yang, are you… outside?” His dad’s voice came through, sounding quite quiet.

“Yeah,” Zou Yang replied. His dad’s call was a bit sudden, and his mind raced. “Are you home?”

“Just got back,” his dad said, then paused. “How did you know I went out?”

“I…” Zou Yang slowed his speech. “I went over this afternoon. The guard told me that you… guys went out.”

The group stared at him in unison.

What are you looking at? The residential complex had four gates; it wasn’t like his dad was going to go ask the guards.

“Is that so,” his dad fell silent. After a long while, he spoke again. “I was originally going to be home today, but then someone suddenly suggested… we go for a walk. With my memory, I forgot to ask if you were coming over today.”

“It’s fine,” Zou Yang said softly.

Holy shit.

Zhang Chuanlong mouthed the words, rubbing his arms vigorously to get rid of the goosebumps.

“How about… have you eaten?” his dad asked. “Let’s…”

“No need, Dad,” Zou Yang said. “I just got off the bus and arrived at school.”

“Then tomorrow, tomorrow…” his dad quickly offered.

“It’s alright, Dad, I’ll go next month,” Zou Yang said. “I just squeezed out some time to go today. The CET-4 exam is coming up, and finals are this month, so I really need to review…”

“Oh,” his dad thought for a moment. “I thought you… passed the CET-4 last year.”

“Our school only lets sophomores take it,” Zou Yang said, then added, “I told you that… last year.”

He hadn’t actually told him last year, but knowing his dad, he wouldn’t remember anyway.

“Is that so…” sure enough, his dad sighed softly.

“I’m going to hang up now, Dad,” Zou Yang said. “My classmate grabbed food for me, and I need to get back to reviewing after I eat.”

“Okay, okay,” his dad said. “You… next month, after your exams are over, Dad will take you out for a good meal.”

Zou Yang didn’t make a sound. After a moment, he responded very quietly, “Mm.”

Then he hung up.

“Damn.” Zhang Chuanlong stepped back and looked at him. “That’s my first time hearing you on a call with your dad. You really… know how to put on an act.”

“Absolute perfection,” Li Zhiyue said. “It gave me goosebumps listening to it.”

“Awesome, right?” Liu Wenrui said proudly. “He’s been acting for over a decade.”

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s head back to school,” Zou Yang stretched lazily. “I don’t have to go over there anymore. Feels great—”

He said it felt great, but his dad’s call had inevitably affected his mood. His initially good spirits couldn’t quite lift back up after hanging up.

He felt slightly down for the next few days.

He felt disdain and contempt for this father of his, but underneath those layers, his feelings were far more complicated.

The complete, warm home he wanted, the forgiving fatherly love he craved—for over a decade, he had only been able to beg this man for them, but this man had given him nothing.

Yet in another parallel existence, in someone else’s life, this man was clearly capable of giving everything.

Most of the time, Zou Yang wouldn’t overthink it. He let his emotions burn out as soon as they surfaced; getting the money was all that mattered. But occasionally, he couldn’t help it. He would feel hatred, he wouldn’t be able to make sense of it, and he would feel deeply suffocated.

His phone pinged.

Zou Yang didn’t shift his gaze, merely reaching out to blindly grab his phone: “There is a growing consensus that the government…”

He glanced at the screen.

[Fan]

He opened the message.

[Fan]: The president finished editing all your photos. I’ve been busy these past few days and forgot to tell you.

[Zou Yang]: I’ll come over tomorrow.

[Fan]: No need to come over. I’ll just send you the link.

[Zou Yang]: Can you read? Read the sentence I just sent back to me.

[Fan]: ?

“Coach Fan, I want to spar,” He Chuan stood next to the punching bag.

“With who?” Fan Jun asked.

“You!” He Chuan said.

“Then you’ll be the one-punch style,” Fan Jun said.

“What do you mean?” He Chuan asked.

“It means one punch from me, and you’re dead,” Fan Jun said.

“…Dead is dead. I want to spar with you. Every day it’s either physical training, punching bags, or footwork, footwork,” He Chuan complained. “It’s so annoying. And what’s the point of wearing protective gear? Is it even necessary? I’ve lost all my motivation.”

“Fine,” Fan Jun nodded, tapping his boxing gloves together. “Come on.”

“Ahhh—” He Chuan immediately charged forward, swinging his fists.

Right straight, right straight, right straight, left hook, right straight… Compared to when he first came to “crash the dojo,” he had improved significantly, but… Fan Jun basically just slowly retreated, dodging slightly a few times.

Not a single punch landed.

“Fight back!” He Chuan yelled.

“…What did you say?” Fan Jun tilted his head.

As he tilted his head, he noticed someone walking in through the door.

Against the light, he could only make out a silhouette.

But that unhurried, leisurely walking posture could be recognized at a glance.

It was Zou Yang.

In that brief moment of distraction, He Chuan charged over, yelling “Ahhhh.”

Fan Jun kept looking toward the door. After blocking with his left hand, he casually threw a right hook that landed squarely on He Chuan’s headgear.

With a heavy thud, He Chuan collapsed onto the training mat, instantly stripped of all his fighting spirit: “Holy… shit.”

“Why are you here?” Fan Jun asked, looking at Zou Yang who had already walked over to the edge of the training area.

Zou Yang clicked his tongue and didn’t speak. He just took out his phone, tapped it a few times, and held it up right in front of Fan Jun’s eyes: “Read it.”

“I’ll come over tomorrow,” Fan Jun started laughing.

“How much longer until class is over?” Zou Yang glanced down at He Chuan lying on the ground. “Isn’t this the bro who came to crash the dojo that day?”

“That’s right,” He Chuan groaned. “Yours truly, He Chuan.”

“Class is over,” Fan Jun walked over and looked down at him to say.

“I can’t get up, I’m too tired.” He Chuan lay there panting heavily, reaching a hand out to him.

“Then lie there for a bit.” Fan Jun swatted his hand away, took off his gloves, and walked over to Zou Yang. “Did you… want to see the photos?”

“No,” Zou Yang said. “Let’s go for a walk outside.”

Fan Jun glanced out the window. The weather wasn’t great today. It was heavily overcast and windy, looking like it was about to rain.

“I don’t want my mom to know I came over,” Zou Yang said. “It’s not the weekend today either.”

“Mm.” Fan Jun nodded. “Then… let’s go.”

There really wasn’t anywhere to “go for a walk” around the old gym. The street was lined with obscure little shops on both sides. Zou Yang looked around as he walked; if he even wanted to stop and say a few words, they would be blocking someone’s storefront.

After wandering around in silence for a while, Fan Jun finally spoke up: “How about… you follow me?”

“…Alright.” Zou Yang nodded.

Fan Jun led him down an adjacent alleyway and into a residential area. After passing several interconnected buildings, Zou Yang spotted a large tree with a circle of stone benches underneath.

Even though it was surrounded by residential buildings, it was surprisingly quiet at the moment, with no one else around.

“The original residents of these buildings have all moved away. It’s mostly tenants now, people who run businesses nearby,” Fan Jun walked over to the tree. “There isn’t anyone around at this time of day.”

“Mm.” Zou Yang looked up at the sky. A raindrop fell onto his glasses as he walked under the tree as well.

“Did you… skip class again today?” Fan Jun asked.

“No, I only had one class this afternoon,” Zou Yang said. “You wouldn’t let me book a lesson, otherwise this would be the perfect time to have one.”

“I…” Fan Jun paused. “Aren’t your exams coming up soon?”

“Yeah.” Zou Yang tossed his backpack onto a nearby stone bench, pulled a small paper bag out of it, and handed it to him. “Here.”

“What’s this?” Fan Jun took the paper bag and looked inside to find a small wooden box.

“Open it and see,” Zou Yang said.

Fan Jun took out the box and opened it carefully.

A beaded bracelet, small green beads, identical to the one on Zou Yang’s wrist.

He froze, staring up at Zou Yang.

“Birthday gift,” Zou Yang said. “Even though it isn’t… here yet, it’s… going to be this month anyway…”

Shock was written all over Fan Jun’s face; he clearly hadn’t expected this at all.

“You…” He wanted to say thank you, but Zou Yang wouldn’t let him.

He closed the box and placed it back into the bag.

After pausing for two seconds, he took the box out again, opened it, and examined it closely.

“Take it out and get a proper look,” Zou Yang urged.

Fan Jun hesitated for a moment before taking the bracelet out of the box, realizing that it wasn’t exactly the same as Zou Yang’s.

“This is…” Fan Jun asked.

“It’s a cat’s paw,” Zou Yang said. “Originally, I wanted to get a Yazi, but they didn’t have one.”

“Normally, they wouldn’t have something like that anyway, right?” Fan Jun smiled.

“They didn’t have dogs with pointy ears either, only cats,” Zou Yang said. “I figured a cat’s paw… is also pretty sharp. You can consider it a talisman.”

Fan Jun stared at the bracelet without making a sound.

“Aren’t you going to put it on?” Zou Yang asked.

“I’ll wear it on the actual day,” Fan Jun smiled.

“Alright.” Zou Yang nodded. “So… even though it’s not the day yet, since I’ve already given you the gift… Happy birthday.”