“Thank you.” Fan Jun was still looking at the bracelet, examining it back and forth very carefully.

This time, Zou Yang didn’t tell him to shut up; he just looked at the bracelet as well and smiled.

The rain started to fall. In his peripheral vision, he could see the color of the surrounding ground gradually darkening; only the circular patch of ground directly beneath the tree where they stood remained a lighter color.

“How did you know my birthday?” Fan Jun put the bracelet back into its box and returned it to the bag.

“The day we went to the amusement park,” Zou Yang said. “I saw it on your disability certificate.”

“You have really good eyesight,” Fan Jun said.

“I am wearing glasses,” Zou Yang replied.

Fan Jun turned his head and glanced to the side. “Do you have an umbrella?”

“Who brings that kind of thing when they go out?” Zou Yang said, sitting down on a stone bench. “Let’s just stay here for a bit, we won’t get rained on.”

“When it gets heavier in a while, we’ll definitely get wet.” Fan Jun sat down next to him, placing the small bag beside himself.

The bag didn’t stand upright and tipped over. He propped it back up and set it down properly again.

“Don’t worry about things that haven’t happened yet,” Zou Yang said, shooting him a glance. “Your past birthdays… did you celebrate them?”

“I did. Aunt Li used to make a special bowl of noodles just for me,” Fan Jun smiled. “Later on… Uncle Lü wasn’t very good at cooking, so he would just buy me a small piece of cake.”

“And now?” Zou Yang asked.

“After we became adults, Lü Ze said he wouldn’t celebrate birthdays anymore,” Fan Jun said. “So after I turned eighteen, I also… stopped celebrating.”

“He is so high-maintenance,” Zou Yang clicked his tongue. “Does that mean you haven’t received many gifts? Didn’t your good friends from school give you anything?”

“Yeah, they didn’t. None,” Fan Jun said. “I went to No. 21 Middle School for both junior and senior high.”

Zou Yang thought about it. Putting Fan Jun’s personality aside, that school really wasn’t a great place for making friends.

“Are you investigating a case? Asking in such detail,” Fan Jun shot him a glance.

“Not really,” Zou Yang said. “I just think you…”

“Mm, I’m very happy,” Fan Jun said.

Zou Yang smiled. “Just this reaction of yours makes me happy. When I give Liu Wenrui and the others gifts, they never react like this. Their acting is super fake.”

Fan Jun smiled and said nothing.

“Transfer to manual service,” Zou Yang suddenly said.

“…It is now,” Fan Jun replied. “Agent 003 is at your service.”

“Have you really been that busy lately?” Bringing this up made Zou Yang feel a little displeased again. “It couldn’t just be to avoid disturbing my exam prep, right? Are you really that noble?”

Fan Jun smiled. “I really have been busy, it’s just…”

Zou Yang looked at him. Fan Jun hesitated again and didn’t continue.

“Can’t make something up?” Zou Yang asked. “Do you need me to help you?”

Fan Jun sighed softly. “The old gym might be getting demolished.”

“Huh?” Zou Yang froze.

“There were rumors a couple of years ago, but it never actually got demolished,” Fan Jun said. “This time it should be real. I just don’t know the exact timeline.”

Demolition might be a good thing for many people, but for Uncle Lü’s family, that wasn’t necessarily the case.

The new gym was likely going to flop, and the old gym’s location was rented, so demolition meant it would be gone completely…

“Then…” Zou Yang frowned. “If it really gets demolished, what are Uncle Lü and Lü Ze planning to do?”

“Lü Ze is going to leave; he’s already looking for a new place,” Fan Jun said softly. “He definitely won’t want to stay in Nanzhouping.”

“Is Uncle Lü going with him?” Zou Yang asked.

“Uncle Lü doesn’t want to leave,” Fan Jun said. “It’s also not easy for him to leave. His apartment might not be scheduled for demolition, and even if it is, the compensation probably won’t be much…”

“What about you?” Zou Yang asked before he could even finish.

Fan Jun didn’t speak.

Since he didn’t respond, Zou Yang didn’t know what to say either.

As long as the martial arts gym was there, Fan Jun could stay in Nanzhouping indefinitely. If the gym was gone, Uncle Lü could still stay in Nanzhouping, and if Zou Yang’s mom really married Uncle Lü, she might stay too…

But there was a high probability that Fan Jun wouldn’t be able to stay. He wasn’t a kid anymore; it wasn’t like he had to stay by Uncle Lü’s side forever.

Even Uncle Lü’s biological son was leaving.

A flash of lightning lit up the sky above, followed by the rumble of thunder from afar.

“Let’s go,” Fan Jun said. “Let’s change spots.”

“Mm,” Zou Yang acknowledged, but he didn’t move.

Raindrops occasionally fell through the leaves onto his face and body, but it wasn’t too heavy, and he simply didn’t want to move.

Although his exam prep lately couldn’t exactly be called diligent, it was still exhausting. Coupled with his low mood, he felt entirely drained of energy.

In the past, whenever he felt like this, he would find a secluded spot alone and just zone out, not thinking about anything, purely spacing out.

But now, he was particularly unwilling to be alone. He always felt that if he stayed alone, he would truly be left completely alone in the world.

He was afraid of not seeing anyone, and he was also afraid that others wouldn’t see him anymore.

If he had to choose one person to stay with, someone who wouldn’t disrupt his “zoning out” state… the very first person who came to mind was Fan Jun.

It was quite magical.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Liu Wenrui.

Liu Wenrui was too noisy.

Liu Wenrui had seen too many of his other sides and was already completely used to them; no matter what state he was in, it wouldn’t stop Liu Wenrui’s mouth from running.

In contrast, Fan Jun was very quiet, and he could sense that even if Fan Jun saw through something, he wouldn’t easily speak up about it.

He could just peacefully space out together with him.

Another bolt of lightning flashed across the sky.

The surroundings had gone completely dark.

The thunder was much closer than before, sounding like it was rolling right past their ears.

“We’re going to get struck by lightning,” Fan Jun said.

Zou Yang glanced at him and couldn’t hold back a laugh.

“Seriously, Sun Xulei’s grandmother was cursing at me yesterday,” Fan Jun said. “Saying I was going to get struck by lightning.”

Zou Yang didn’t even have time to drop his smile. “What the hell? Has her brain already been struck?”

“Her son spent seven days in the detention center,” Fan Jun explained.

“And so?” Zou Yang was utterly speechless. He couldn’t say anything for a long moment, finally turning to look up at the tree. “This tree has been around for a long time, right?”

“Yeah, a century-old tree.” Fan Jun also looked back.

“A hundred years, and it hasn’t been struck,” Zou Yang said. “It’s perfectly safe. Tell the old lady to give up on that wish.”

Fan Jun looked at him with a smile.

Immediately after, there was a sudden crackling and rumbling all around them, and raindrops at least the size of steamed dumplings smashed down through the gaps in the leaves.

Like fists, over a dozen of them smashed onto Zou Yang’s glasses in quick succession.

“Fuck.” He took off his glasses, struggling to process what was happening. “Is this rain?”

“No,” Fan Jun tucked the paper bag beside him under his T-shirt, hugging it close to his chest. “It’s the Water Splashing Festival.”

Zou Yang wiped his face and shoved his glasses into his bag.

This was when the benefits of wearing a hat became obvious. Fan Jun was wearing a cap, so even in this face-smothering rain, he could still keep his eyes open normally.

“Let’s go.” Fan Jun grabbed his arm and hurried toward a nearby stairwell.

The exact moment they stepped out from under the tree and into the rain, they were both completely soaked through.

Their hair was plastered over their eyes.

“…I think I need a haircut,” Zou Yang said.

Fan Jun smiled, pulled out the paper bag stuffed inside his shirt, then took out his phone, and turned to the side to sneeze.

“You…” Hearing the sound, Zou Yang suddenly felt a bit nervous. “Are you fully recovered from your fever?”

“I’ve been fully recovered for a while,” Fan Jun tapped rapidly on his phone. “I’m fine.”

“What caused your fever anyway?” Zou Yang looked at him. Between the trip to the detention center and the fever, Fan Jun had lost even more weight compared to the day he got out of lockup. If Lü Ze saw this, he’d probably be very gratified; his fat loss journey had been quite successful.

“Probably just didn’t rest well,” Fan Jun put his phone back into his pocket. “I used to get fevers all the time when I was little.”

The rain was still falling. It wasn’t as urgent as before, but it was incredibly dense, looking like it wouldn’t stop for at least a couple of hours.

No one passed through the stairwell. Just the two of them standing there, the water dripping off their bodies forming two puddles on the ground.

Neither of them spoke. They quietly watched the waterfall-like curtain of rain outside together.

“I might…” Fan Jun suddenly spoke up. “…have to start thinking about finding a job.”

“Hm?” It took Zou Yang two seconds to realize he was picking up the conversation they had dropped earlier. “In Nanzhouping? Or…”

“There’s nothing suitable in Nanzhouping; I kept an eye out before,” Fan Jun said. “There aren’t many martial arts or boxing gyms, and only a few fitness centers, none of which are doing very well.”

“Are you… going to go with Lü Ze?” Zou Yang asked.

Even though Lü Ze was an idiot and a lot of trouble, he was at least an acquaintance.

“I’m not sure yet,” Fan Jun lowered his head halfway through his sentence. “We’ll see when the time comes.”

“Do you still want to find a similar job?” Zou Yang asked.

“Yeah. It’s not like I know how to do anything else,” Fan Jun said.

Zou Yang took two steps toward him and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him.

Fan Jun didn’t have much of an expression on his face, but a lot of uncertainty and unease could be heard in his tone.

He didn’t know how to comfort him. As a student still two years away from graduation, he couldn’t offer any career advice either. The only thing he could do was stand beside him and share the silence.

Not long after, an enclosed mobility scooter drove over from between the two opposite buildings, heading straight for the big tree.

Fan Jun whistled, and the scooter honked back, driving up to their stairwell entrance and stopping.

“Squeeze into the back, we can just barely make it fit,” Lao Si said.

“This…” Zou Yang poked his head out and looked at the back seat of the scooter. At most, it could fit Fan Jun and one of his legs.

“Hurry up,” Lao Si shimmied forward, leaving them some space to get in. “I’m the only one at my shop right now. After dropping you guys off, I still have to head back.”

Fan Jun must have taken Lao Si’s vehicle often. He skillfully squeezed in behind Lao Si and sat down in the back row.

“Come on,” Fan Jun waved him over.

“Where am I supposed to come?” Zou Yang looked at the empty space beside him. “It can only fit half a butt…”

“Where the hell do you get off having such a big butt!” Lao Si roared. “If the seat can’t fit your butt, then sit on his lap.”

Zou Yang clicked his tongue and gritted his teeth as he squeezed in. He was still hunched over trying to find an angle to turn around when Lao Si twisted the throttle and bolted forward.

The momentum threw Zou Yang violently forward. If it hadn’t been for Fan Jun wearing a baseball cap, his nose would have poked right into Fan Jun’s face.

“Hey!” He scrambled frantically to find something to grab onto.

His hand reflexively pressed downwards with the force.

“Where are you…” Fan Jun grabbed his wrist and redirected it to the side.

Even though aiming for someone’s crotch was inappropriate, the force of his hand had to go downwards to support his body. With Fan Jun’s grab and pull, his whole body immediately started to fall.

Fan Jun was quite agile, however. With his other hand, he grabbed Zou Yang’s waistband and yanked him to the side. Zou Yang spun half a circle and half-fell, half-crashed into the seat beside him.

“Holy… shit.” Zou Yang tugged at his waistband, not even entirely sure how he had managed to sit down.

“Told you you’d fit,” Lao Si said from the front.

“…Yeah.” Zou Yang glanced over at Fan Jun. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine,” Fan Jun smiled.

The heavy rain continued outside. Although they wouldn’t get rained on inside the vehicle, their soaked clothes clung to their bodies, feeling a bit chilly.

When they had been standing in the stairwell earlier, there was even a breeze, but they hadn’t felt much. Now that the two of them were squeezed together, the chill finally began to seep in.

Zou Yang squished closer to Fan Jun.

Fan Jun was squeezed so tight he had to lift his arm up. “Have you… been eating too many cheat meals lately? Why do you need so much space?”

Zou Yang started laughing. “I’m cold.”

Fan Jun’s raised arm couldn’t find a comfortable angle to rest. He waved it around for a moment before finally wrapping it behind Zou Yang’s shoulders and resting it on the seatback.

Lao Si drove the mobility scooter without taking a single main road, expertly weaving between the uneven heights of the residential buildings. Zou Yang looked out the window.

In the pouring rain, Nanzhouping felt like a maze. Every time they turned out from behind a building, they would see a cluster of nearly identical old buildings, trees downstairs, stone benches and chairs, and discarded old furniture by the walls of the stairwells…

Zou Yang had always been relatively good with directions, but in this place, he felt like once he came in, there was absolutely no way he could find his way out.

Lao Si dropped them off below Fan Jun’s building, then sped off in his scooter, rushing back to his fruit shop.

“Change into a set of my clothes first,” Fan Jun said, opening the door. As he took off his shoes, he pulled his T-shirt over his head. “Just leave yours here for now…”

“Mm.” Zou Yang walked inside, closed the door, and shot a glance at Fan Jun’s body.

There weren’t any overtly obvious scars on Fan Jun’s body, but amidst the clear-cut muscle lines, streaks of dark marks of varying lengths were still somewhat startling to look at.

Fan Jun tossed his wet clothes into the washing machine. Still shirtless, he went to find a change of clothes for Zou Yang, also grabbing a brand-new pair of underwear. “Do you want to take a shower?”

“Yeah.” Zou Yang reached out and vigorously rubbed Da Hei, the black cat that was stretching itself into a long line on the sofa. He took the clothes and entered Fan Jun’s bathroom.

Just like last time, Fan Jun’s bathroom was very neat and tidy—the exact state his mom loved the most… Zou Yang hadn’t been home for two weeks, and his bathroom was also neat and tidy, perfectly maintaining the state his mom had left it in the last time she cleaned it.

He turned on the hot water and let it hit his forehead for almost a full minute before the chill clinging to his body slowly faded away. His whole being felt as though it was gradually unwinding. Leaning against the wall, he raised a hand to wipe his face and let out a soft sigh.

After his shower, he changed into Fan Jun’s clothes. They fit nicely, making him feel like he was about to head out for a morning jog.

Fan Jun wasn’t in the living room. There were sounds coming from the kitchen, so Zou Yang pushed the door open and peeked inside.

“Done washing up?” Fan Jun was still shirtless, standing in front of the stove holding a small milk pot.

“Yeah, what are you doing?” Zou Yang asked. He wasn’t wearing his glasses and couldn’t clearly see what was inside the pot, but he smelled the distinct aroma of ginger.

“I boiled some eggs in ginger syrup water,” Fan Jun said. “Didn’t you just say you were cold?”

“…Oh,” Zou Yang replied.

Somewhere deep in his heart, he inexplicably felt a pang of soreness, as if his heart had been wrung.

Fan Jun grabbed a bowl and poured the ginger syrup and eggs from the milk pot into it. “Go wait outside. I’ll bring it out when it’s done. Do you want it sweeter or…”

“Just a little sweet,” Zou Yang said.

Fan Jun smiled. “Alright.”

Zou Yang stood by the door without moving, just watching Fan Jun.

“What’s wrong?” Fan Jun glanced back at him.

“Nothing.” As he spoke, Zou Yang realized his voice was actually trembling slightly.

Fan Jun paused, set down what he was holding, and turned around.

Zou Yang leaned against the doorframe. For some inexplicable reason, he was reminded of the times when he was a child, standing by the kitchen door watching his mom cook. The profound sense of loneliness that he had been forcefully suppressing with his exam preparations over the past while instantly surged back up.

Studying was too exhausting.

When you’re too exhausted, you become very sensitive.

Especially for artsy youths like them…

“Zou Yang?” Fan Jun walked over.

“I feel like crying,” Zou Yang said.

“You…” Fan Jun raised his hand, then let it drop. He pulled a tissue from the nearby cabinet and handed it to him. “…are already crying.”

“Is it really that ridiculous?” Zou Yang reached up to touch the corner of his eye. A drop of icy water slid off his wet hair, and right after, his fingertips met the warm dampness at the corner of his eye.

Zou Yang stared down at his fingertips, frozen.

Following closely, a teardrop fell right into the palm of his hand.

He looked up at Fan Jun. Fan Jun was looking back at him in silence.

“Sorry,” Zou Yang said as he raised his hand, gripped Fan Jun’s shoulder, and pulled him closer.

Before Fan Jun could even steady his footing, Zou Yang threw his arms around him, lowering his head to swiftly press his eyes against his shoulder.