No one knew what had happened that night. Even Jiang Shi only remembered that, in the early winter evening not long after he arrived in Liuxi Village, he had bumped into that boy—quiet, honest, and reserved.

Click—

The sound of a lighter snapped in the small hotel room. Cheng Ye lit a cigarette.

He pulled open his thin jacket and took out the envelope he had hidden from the beginning. He used his fingertips to pry it open, and under the light overhead, he could clearly see what was inside.

The envelope was stuffed with bright red banknotes. Not too much, not too little—exactly ten thousand.

The profits from the mines were too great, and over-exploitation had been wreaking havoc on the environment. The authorities had long wanted to rectify the situation, but they hadn’t found the right opportunity.

Cheng Ye’s arrival provided that opportunity.

He held in his hands a recording, and an account book that Wang Gang had kept all these years.

Rain soaked the boy’s shoulders. Wearing shoes with a hole in them, he sat in the spacious, well-lit office. Across from him, a man in a suit stared at him with a scrutinizing gaze.

Cheng Ye stared back calmly—too calmly for a seventeen-year-old.

He had only one demand—

“I want money.”

One recording and one ledger exchanged for twenty thousand. Half of it, ten thousand, went to Wang Gang.

After finishing a cigarette, Cheng Ye sat cross-legged on the bed, counting the money again.

He suddenly thought of the clothing shop in the middle of town, the one he had passed by so many times. Hanging by the window was a black jacket. When the sunlight fell on its shoulders, the black fabric shimmered with flecks of gold.

Jiang Shi would definitely look good in it.

---

At the school gates, Jiang Shi was buying fried potatoes.

That weekend he didn’t go home. After giving his money to Cheng Ye, the young master suddenly became acutely aware of how much things cost.

A round trip home was twenty yuan. In those days, when prices weren’t that high, twenty yuan was enough for an ordinary student to eat for a whole week.

Jiang Shi calculated, and decided not to go back. Instead of spending money traveling, he’d rather stay in the dorm and sleep.

Since Jiang Shi wasn’t going, Gao Xinhe didn’t go either.

Not long after the semester started, Gao Xinhe’s red-dyed hair got him caught by the discipline director. Without giving him any warning, the director took a pair of scissors and cut it right off on the spot. Left behind was a short, stubby crop of black hair that fully exposed his single-lidded eyes, flat nose, and dark complexion.

Humiliated, he cried under his blanket every day. Even when the weekend came, his mood didn’t improve.

He followed behind Jiang Shi, sniffling. Jiang Shi, helpless, could only comfort him.
“How about this—I’ll treat you.”

Sniffling, Gao Xinhe said, “I want fried potatoes.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

Fine. Fried potatoes it is.

The vendor was a man in his fifties. Business was booming. Jiang Shi and Gao Xinhe had to stand in line for a while before it was their turn.

Gao Xinhe stood in front, his bare back of the head exposed for all to see. “Boss, extra spice, extra chili.”

The boss scooped chopped potatoes into the sizzling oil, looked up, and chuckled.
“Kid, that haircut of yours is pretty unique.”

Gao Xinhe: “…”

“And look—your nose, your eyes. Showing them off like this actually looks pretty good.”

The small-eyed, flat-nosed Gao Xinhe: “…”

Jiang Shi turned his head away, tried to hold it in, but failed. His eyes crinkled in laughter.

Gao Xinhe looked back at him pitifully. “Cousin…”

Side by side with Jiang Shi’s face, Gao Xinhe looked even more miserable. He instantly regretted coming out for fried potatoes with him.

The oil bubbled, and soon a batch was ready. The boss handed Gao Xinhe his serving, and then it was Jiang Shi’s turn.

“I don’t want chili, thank you,” Jiang Shi said.

Without looking up, the boss dumped in a spoonful anyway. “Fried potatoes without chili? That won’t do.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

His brows twitched. “Enough. Just a little.”

“Not enough,” the boss countered. “The potatoes aren’t even red. This is like nothing at all.”

Two minutes later, Jiang Shi stood on the roadside with Gao Xinhe, holding a bowl of bright red fried potatoes.

Gao Xinhe’s mouth was like a machine, already half-finished with his portion. Between bites, he asked, “Cousin, aren’t you eating?”

Jiang Shi held the thin bamboo skewer between pale fingers. The smell tickled his nose. He hesitated, then finally took a small bite.

The next second, he shoved the potatoes into Gao Xinhe’s hands and, face flushed, rushed into a nearby shop for water.

When he came out again, there was a tall figure standing by Gao Xinhe.

Jiang Shi stopped in his tracks. When the man turned toward him, he whispered, “Cheng Ye?”

In two strides, Cheng Ye was at his side, glancing down at the half-empty bottle of water in his hand.
“Too spicy?”

Jiang Shi pursed his tingling lips. “You’re back already? Everything’s settled?”

“Settled.”

But Cheng Ye didn’t just settle his business. He even settled things at school.

When Jiang Shi returned, he found he had a new roommate.

Still holding his half-eaten fried potatoes, Jiang Shi looked up at the towering boy bending over to make the bed opposite his.

For a moment, an odd thought crossed his mind: With Cheng Ye being that tall, wouldn’t he poke right through the ceiling if he slept on the top bunk?

He shook off the thought, but still couldn’t understand why Cheng Ye was there. “Wait, why are you in my dorm?”

Cheng Ye replied matter-of-factly, “Too much time had passed since the semester started. My old dorm got reassigned. Plus, Class One wasn’t a good fit for me, so they put me in Class Three.”

Quite the coincidence.

Jiang Shi’s expression was blank.

Cheng Ye’s bedding was pitifully thin. Compared to Jiang Shi’s warm, cozy setup, his side looked like that of a refugee.

But the “refugee” didn’t seem to notice. After casually putting on the duvet cover, he saw Jiang Shi watching him and said, “I bought you something. It’s on the desk.”

Jiang Shi turned his head. Sure enough, there was a bag on the desk. He picked it up and pulled out a black jacket.

He was surprised. He ran his fingers over it—the fabric was high-quality, structured but soft, with subtle metallic threads in the shoulders that sparkled faintly under the light.

Still holding the jacket, he looked up at Cheng Ye, who was kneeling on the top bunk. “You bought this?” He flipped it over, but there was no tag. “How much was it?”

Cheng Ye shook out his blanket. It slipped loosely over the bedframe. He ignored it and climbed down.

The boy’s pale hand rested against the black fabric, skin like jade, fingers slender, knuckles faintly pink.

Just as he’d thought—Jiang Shi would look perfect in this.

“Not expensive,” Cheng Ye said simply. “Didn’t cost much.”

Jiang Shi wasn’t stupid. He could tell just from touch that it wasn’t cheap.

Anger rose in his chest. Cheng Ye was already dirt poor. Jiang Shi had even given him money to pay off debts. And yet this guy had turned around and spent a small fortune on clothes.

Clothes for Jiang Shi. While Cheng Ye himself slept under a blanket that barely kept out the cold.

Jiang Shi didn’t even know who he was angry at anymore.

Coldly, he asked, “Why would you buy me clothes?”

“Because they looked good. They’d suit you. So I bought them,” Cheng Ye answered honestly.

Jiang Shi: “…”

The two other roommates exchanged nervous glances, shrinking into themselves and pretending they weren’t there.

Jiang Shi threw the jacket at him. “Take it back. I don’t want it.”

Cheng Ye hugged the jacket, confused by Jiang Shi’s reaction. “I already threw out the tag. I can’t return it.”

He added, “I bought it with money I earned. Not yours. Please don’t be mad.”

That only made Jiang Shi angrier. “Do you think you’re rich? Huh?”

Cheng Ye: “…”

“…No. Not rich.”

“Then why are you acting like some big spender? Did you even ask me? Did I say I wanted it? Who do you think you are, giving me things just because you feel like it?”

Cheng Ye opened his mouth, struggled for words, and finally managed a stiff, “Sorry.”

He tried to explain. “But it’s already bought…”

“So what? Just because you bought it, I have to wear it? And thank you like I owe you something?”

Clutching the jacket, Cheng Ye looked big but helpless. “Sorry.”

But he didn’t say he wouldn’t do it again.

“How much was it?” Jiang Shi demanded.

“128.”

In truth, it had been 458.

128 wouldn’t have mattered to the old Jiang Shi, but now…

“Return it,” Jiang Shi ordered.

“Can’t,” Cheng Ye said again.

“Jiang Shi, you’d look really good in it.”

“Good-looking my ass. You wear it.”

“I bought your size.”

“…”

At the end of his patience, Jiang Shi grabbed a book and threw it at him. “Get out!”

Cheng Ye quietly set the book and jacket on the desk beside him, and left—to buy Jiang Shi dinner.

Jiang Shi sat on his bed, stewing.

Their two other roommates hesitated, then spoke up. “Jiang Shi, I mean… he did buy you clothes. Maybe you were a bit harsh?”

Still fuming, Jiang Shi’s voice was icy enough to freeze water. “So what if he gave me something? Does that mean I have to take it?”

The two instantly shut their mouths.

They weren’t in the same class as Jiang Shi. Usually, he didn’t talk much in the dorm. When he wasn’t smiling, his face was basically saying “keep away.” So they hadn’t interacted much.

But they hadn’t expected that the “cold beauty” could be this fiery. After seeing how he scolded Cheng Ye, they figured they’d never dare give him anything themselves.

Not everyone had Cheng Ye’s thick skin—or his heart.

Jiang Shi didn’t know what they were thinking. By the time Cheng Ye came back with food, he was still sulking.

Cheng Ye handed him chopsticks first. Jiang Shi stubbornly refused. “I’m not eating.”

Cheng Ye opened the box anyway. “I bought beef brisket.”

The rich tomato sauce coated the meat. Other than salt, no heavy spices—just the way Jiang Shi liked it.

The smell wafted over. Jiang Shi’s eyes flickered, but his face remained dark. “I said I’m not eating.”

This time, Cheng Ye didn’t give in. He forced the chopsticks into Jiang Shi’s hand, dragged the desk over, and set the meal in front of him. He looked down at him and said firmly, “It’s six o’clock. You need to eat.”

The tone was one Jiang Shi had never heard from him before—unyielding, leaving no room for refusal.

Holding the chopsticks, Jiang Shi felt bizarrely cornered. He opened his mouth to protest. “I don’t—”

“Jiang Shi.”

Just two words. Jiang Shi instinctively picked up his rice, and under Cheng Ye’s gaze, shoved a piece of beef into his mouth.

Only after swallowing did he realize what he had just done.

“…”

Wait. Was he the crazy one here? Or was Cheng Ye?