“Students, today is the last class of this semester. Exams will be next week, I hope students…”

A familiar voice sounded from far away.

Qi Xiuyi groggily opened his eyes.

In the pitch-black field of vision, a sliver of light leaked in.

The light spread outward from the center of his vision, quickly invading the entire field of view.

His vision brightened.

…Where is this?

Classroom at B University?

Is that… Professor Yang? Didn’t he retire two years ago?

Qi Xiuyi sat blankly on the chair.

He looked left and right, and soon, among a sea of heads, he saw an exceptionally familiar one.

The owner of that head was none other than Yu Zhiqiu, whom he hadn’t contacted in who knows how many years and had broken off relations with.

…Yu Zhiqiu?

He was in the same year as him. They graduated years ago, how could he be sitting here?

…Wait, then why was he sitting in a classroom??

Qi Xiuyi sat blankly in the classroom for a long while.

The students around him flipped through their books with a rustling sound, starting to highlight key points following what the professor on the podium said.

…This seemed to be a sophomore course; he had a vague impression.

He remembered that during this class back then, he didn’t really listen to the teacher talk about key points…

What was he doing at that time?

Playing with his phone? Sending messages?

Wait, sophomore year?

Qi Xiuyi’s eyes snapped open, wide and round.

He lowered his head and stared at the black screen of his phone for five seconds; his reflection on it looked slightly dull.

He unlocked his phone hesitantly and tremblingly.

After hesitating for an even longer time, he opened WeChat.

A messy group of pinned chats quickly jumped before his eyes.

Qi Xiuyi’s gaze instantly locked onto the most familiar avatar. It was an anime character holding a small red umbrella with their back to the screen, a small braid tied behind them; it was unclear if it was a boy or a girl.

The small red umbrella avatar was currently pressed near the bottom among a pile of pinned chats. The message displayed outside the chat window was: [It’s almost flight time, Qi Wendong, have you left yet?]

The question, overly rich with the flavor of daily life, almost made Qi Xiuyi’s heart stop beating!

His breath hitched involuntarily, and he raised his stiff and trembling fingers.

His fingertip was about to land on the chat window.

Suddenly, this chat window jumped, skipping to the top of all messages, followed by a small red circle “1”.

Qi Wendong: [[Smile] The sun is shining on your butt. If you don’t leave now, am I still leaving or not? Asking me this at this time, did you oversleep and miss class?]

Qi Xiuyi stared blankly into the chat window at the small red umbrella avatar that suddenly popped up on the left side.

That was…

Qi, Wen, Dong.

Qi… Wen… Dong…

Qi Wendong?!!!!

Qi Xiuyi’s eyes widened abruptly.

His brain suddenly started turning. He frantically swiped his phone, scrolling through chat records. In less than half a minute, he confirmed—

Today was the exact day Qi Wendong was flying abroad for a medical checkup!!!

The screeching sound of tables and chairs colliding rang out harshly.

Several students around him were startled and turned their heads sharply to look at him.

The professor on the podium also frowned and cast his gaze on him.

“Qi Xiuyi, what are you doing?!”

“That student over there…”

Qi Xiuyi’s mind went blank.

He didn’t know why he appeared here, nor why time would flow backward.

The only thing he knew was—

It’s today! It’s today!

If he didn’t leave with Qi Wendong today, then… then when he could see Qi Wendong again, everything would be too late!!

Qi Xiuyi: “Teacher, sorry! Urgent matter!”

Qi Xiuyi hurriedly threw out a sentence, then ran out of the classroom, out of the teaching building, running until his chest and lungs felt like they were on fire.

The car called on the ride-hailing app was still five minutes away from the school gate.

But Qi Xiuyi didn’t want to wait a single second now. He immediately hailed a taxi on the street, got in hurriedly, and slammed the door shut.

Panting heavily, he shouted anxiously: “Quick, quick to the Imperial Capital Airport, hurry!!”

The taxi rushed to the airport as fast as possible.

As soon as the car stopped, before it was even steady, Qi Xiuyi got out hurriedly. He froze for three seconds at the terminal entrance, then immediately turned and sprinted towards the VIP building.

While sprinting, Qi Xiuyi called Qi Wendong on his phone.

Qi Wendong didn’t answer.

…Right, remembered now.

At that time, Qi Wendong liked to set his phone to Do Not Disturb. Calls and messages might not be received anytime soon!

Qi Xiuyi immediately switched to calling the butler.

The butler answered quickly.

Qi Xiuyi had just arrived at the entrance of the VIP building, panting heavily, when the call connected. Qi Xiuyi asked urgently and loudly: “Where is Qi Wendong now? He… he shouldn’t have boarded yet, right!”

On the other end of the phone, the butler was surprised and confused: “Not yet, Young Master. Master Wendong and I just arrived at the airport. What’s wrong? Why does your voice sound so…”

Before he could finish, the butler’s voice suddenly stopped.

Qi Xiuyi turned his head and saw two black cars slowly stopping behind him.

The door of one car opened, and the butler got out in shock to greet him: “Young Master Xiuyi? Why are you here?!”

Qi Xiuyi hadn’t caught his breath, and he didn’t have time to.

He didn’t even have the mind to answer the butler. Impatiently, he pressed one hand on the butler’s shoulder, pushed him aside, strode forward himself, and reached the back seat of the car the butler was in with one step.

He pulled open the door, only to see the curly-haired young man leaning calmly and leisurely against the back seat, tilting his head slightly, looking him up and down with slanted eyes.

With a slight hook of his thin lips, the person opened his mouth with a familiar hint of mockery: “Yo, looks like someone is determined to hang another semester of zeros in all subjects on their transcript?”

Familiar yet excessively distant words rang out in front of him.

Qi Xiuyi stood frozen on the spot, looking down at the young man, his eyes instantly becoming blurred and moist.

The young man’s eyebrows twitched slightly: “…Qi Xiuyi? What’s with that expression? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Qi Xiuyi opened his mouth in a daze, and unknowingly shouted a name in an extremely hoarse voice: “Qi… Wendong.”

The living, breathing Qi Wendong frowned and turned his body slightly towards him.

Qi Wendong: “Qi Xiuyi? What exactly is wrong with you?”

Qi Wendong’s gaze and expression were changing.

His tone naturally changed as well.

From mocking and smiling, to astonished, confused, and feigning calm.

This was a living, flesh-and-blood…

Qi Wendong sitting right in front of him!

Tears fell uncontrollably from the corners of his eyes, streaming silently down his face.

Qi Xiuyi felt his head swell and his body sway, almost unable to stand steady.

He pressed one hand stiffly on the car door, stared fixedly at the young man inside, and called out softly again: “Qi Wendong…”

Qi Wendong’s brows furrowed completely.

It was already early summer, yet Qi Wendong was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, and over that, a thin knitted cardigan inside the air-conditioned car.

Qi Wendong turned his whole body around, one hand subconsciously pressing on the door frame, eyes wide with surprise: “You’re really crying? …You… you aren’t reluctant to part with me, are you, Qi Xiuyi? My god, I’m just going abroad for two days for a checkup!”

But Qi Xiuyi seemed not to understand his words, his eyes unblinking and unmoving, tightly fixed on him.

Qi Xiuyi: “…Qi, Wen, Dong.”

Qi Wendong: “…”

Qi Wendong’s expression changed slightly. He looked away, exchanged a glance with the butler behind Qi Xiuyi, then immediately leaned half his body out of the car, grabbed Qi Xiuyi’s wrist, and pulled him into the back seat.

Qi Wendong: “Alright, do you want the whole Imperial Capital to know our Qi family has produced a crybaby young master? Get in the car! …Okay, okay, what’s the big deal? Is it worth crying so miserably? Tell me, did you miss me so much your eyes turned red, or were you bullied at school? …Don’t tell me you want me to go back now and stand up for you??”

Qi Xiuyi took a deep breath.

But his nose was completely blocked now. Failing to inhale that breath, he opened his mouth and took a heavy breath in anger.

Red-eyed, he shouted: “Qi Wendong.”

Qi Wendong was patient: “Speak.”

Qi Xiuyi shouted again with a hoarse voice: “Qi Wendong!”

Qi Wendong frowned: “Aside from the three characters ‘Qi Wendong,’ do you not know any other words?”

If it were before, before everything happened, Qi Xiuyi would probably have gotten anxious and angry hearing this.

But now.

It had been so long, so long… since he heard Qi Wendong mock him like this.

Qi Xiuyi wanted to laugh, but he was crying.

His tears surged out even more wantonly, large drops falling onto his pants. Finally unable to hold back, he lunged forward and tightly embraced his biological brother whom he had been separated from for so long.

Qi Xiuyi clung to Qi Wendong, wailing loudly: “Qi Wendong… Qi Wendong! You really are Qi Wendong! Damn it, I… sob… sob sob… I missed you so much, Qi Wendong!”

Qi Wendong’s expression changed: “Wait, cry all you want, but don’t wipe your snot and tears on me!! …What ‘missed me so much’? Didn’t we just meet yesterday? Don’t tell me a day apart feels like three years to you??”

Qi Wendong struggled hard, trying to break free from the snot-and-tears demon claws.

But struggle, struggle, he couldn’t break free at all!

Qi Wendong’s face turned dark, and he shouted to the bewildered butler outside: “What are you standing there for? Help me pull him off quickly!”

The butler immediately went into action.

The driver also turned around and tried to join the fray.

However, after a round of tugging and pulling, the three of them combined couldn’t pull away this Qi Xiuyi who was babbling “Qi Wendong” nonsense.

Qi Wendong’s face was dark as he forcefully extended his hand to push Qi Xiuyi’s head away: “Qi Xiuyi! You still have exams! You studied hard for a whole semester, are you going to raise your hands in surrender at this final moment?! What happened to helping me destroy Zhang San’s arrogance? Have you forgotten even your promise to me??! …Qi Xiuyi! Sober up for me!”

Qi Xiuyi: “…Exams, exams, always exams! What exam is so important anyway? It’s not like I absolutely need this diploma!”

Qi Xiuyi shouted with red eyes, snot, and tears: “I don’t care! Either you take me abroad with you today, or, or… there is no ‘or’! Anyway, my hands are not letting go today! Qi Wendong!!!”

The staff from the airport VIP building reminded awkwardly and troubledly from outside the car: “Sir, your flight time…”

This little voice was quickly drowned out by Qi Xiuyi’s noisy shouting.

Amidst the tugging and pulling, the plane flew away.

Qi Wendong: “…”

Qi Wendong was annoyed and slapped Qi Xiuyi’s arm: “Qi! Xiu! Yi! I said, are you done yet? What, I’m just going abroad to see a doctor, is it killing you?”

Qi Xiuyi’s eyes were red as he stared tightly at him: “That hospital is no good, it can’t cure you at all! Let’s change hospitals. If there isn’t a suitable one in the Imperial Capital, or in the country, and we must go abroad, then I’ll suspend my studies and go with you!”

Qi Wendong: “?”

Qi Wendong let out a “Hoh,” extremely surprised: “Did you take the wrong medicine today? Could it be you woke up and your mental age regressed twenty years?”

Qi Xiuyi’s face flushed red: “I…!”

His voice suddenly stuck in his throat.

Regressing twenty years, of course not.

But if we say ten years…

It seemed plausible.

Ten years was enough to turn all once vivid memories into mirages in the brain.

Sometimes, when he mumbled to the WeChat account on the rooftop that was destined never to reply, he involuntarily wondered if the memories of that year were his hallucination.

If not a hallucination.

In reality, how could someone exist in his life for such a brief year, yet occupy his long remaining life?

If such a person truly existed.

Then was he… also too cruel?

Qi Xiuyi gazed dazedly at the young man in front of him.

The emotions hidden in the subtleties of his brows and eyes, whether joy or anger, were vividly alive in a way that flat photos could never replace.

When Qi Wendong’s frowns and smiles, joys and annoyances fell before his eyes again, they were unexpectedly so vibrant.

For a moment, Qi Xiuyi was joyful yet sorrowful.

Qi Wendong, whom he hadn’t seen for so long, so long…

Was he… in a dream?