Yan Hang stood in place until he could no longer see Chu Yi's figure, then he lit a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and slowly sauntered back.

Chu Yi's words left him with an indescribable feeling.

Sooner or later, everyone leaves.

This was the thought he had every time he arrived at a new place. Aside from the endless unknown, he wouldn't have any other feelings.

Because he had no connection to any place.

I came, I left, and the place I once lived in retained no trace of me.

So coming and going, there was nothing much to sigh about.

But now, hearing Chu Yi say such words, he felt a bit wistful.

He had left a mark here. There was a kid who would remember him.

One day, when he looked back, there would be some scenes, and the memory of a certain city would no longer be just a simple place name.

When he got home, his dad had already finished showering and changed into pajamas. The things on the table had been moved to the kitchen, but not washed, all piled up in the sink.

After his run, Yan Hang had eaten a lot. Now feeling a bit lazy, he also sat on the sofa, staring blankly.

His dad was watching the evening news. Aside from first and second-tier cities, few cities had enough news to not repeat in a day. This news had already been broadcast in the afternoon and was being replayed. There was even a weekly summary on Sundays. Yan Hang felt that as long as his dad was home, he could recite the day's news.

"Still going running with Chu Yi tomorrow?" his dad asked.

"Yeah, might as well. I was going to run anyway," Yan Hang said.

"That's good." His dad nodded and stood up. "I'm going to bed."

"Going to sleep right after eating a belly full of meat?" Yan Hang glanced at him. "Middle-aged people get fat easily. Aren't you going to be vigilant about your belly?"

"Don't be jealous of my physique," his dad said with a stretch and went back to his room.

Tomorrow was a workday. Yan Hang had to make himself fall asleep tonight. After playing on his phone for a while in the living room, he also went to take a shower and returned to his room.

He lay in bed for a long time, completely sleepless. He picked up his phone and opened WeChat, looking at Moments. Amidst a bunch of messages from various merchants, he saw the little emoji Chu Yi had posted an hour ago.

It was a run-of-the-mill "smile" emoji.

Very inconspicuous. If you scrolled a bit too fast, you wouldn't even notice it.

Yan Hang smiled, not knowing what meaning each of Chu Yi's little emojis held for Chu Yi himself.

After looking at his phone for a while, he still wasn't sleepy. Yan Hang clicked on a movie.

A horror movie.

He watched for half an hour without seeing anything, scared half to death by the background music and the female lead's screams every five minutes. So he turned it off.

He was so scared he was wide awake, practically bursting with energy.

He had no choice but to get out of bed, go to the living room to pour himself a glass of water, and prepare to take medicine.

When he returned to his room, he saw that the light in his dad's room was still on. It had been over an hour since his dad went to his room. His dad slept well, especially on nights like this when he had eaten supper and drank alcohol. He would usually turn off the light within twenty minutes of entering the room.

If he really couldn't sleep for so long, his dad would come over to see if he was asleep. If he was still awake, they would chat for a bit. But today, his dad didn't come looking for him either.

Yan Hang hesitated for a moment, then walked very quietly to the door and listened for movement inside the room.

It was very quiet. He couldn't hear any sound, but he could smell a very faint scent of cigarette smoke.

Not sleeping in the middle of the night, hiding in the room to smoke, smoking so much that you could smell it through the cracks in the door - this was a very rare state for his dad.

For so many years, aside from his whereabouts being uncertain and occasional injuries, he had always lived a relatively healthy life. Smoking like this was almost unheard of.

Yan Hang raised his hand, wanting to knock on the door, but even when his hand was sore from being raised for so long, he still didn't knock.

In the end, he returned to his own room, took two pills, and went to sleep.

The medicine was effective. At least he fell asleep, but when he woke up in the morning, he felt like his head was swollen.

Yan Hang walked out of the room slowly, his head weighing eighty-six pounds. He glanced in the direction of his dad's room. The door was already open.

He walked over and looked inside. His dad wasn't there. He looked back at the shoe rack. His dad's shoes were gone. He must have gone out.

He went into the room and opened the windows that were only open a crack.

His dad had a habit of folding the quilt when he got up, so it was impossible to tell if he had slept last night. But the lingering cigarette smell in the room that hadn't completely dissipated proved that even if he had slept, it wasn't for very long. Based on the smell, he had probably been smoking for most of the night.

With his heavy head, he finished washing up. Just as he was considering what to make for breakfast, there was a sound from the living room door. Yan Hang turned his head. His dad came in carrying a bag of steaming breakfast foods.

"You went to buy breakfast?" Yan Hang asked.

"You didn't sleep well last night, right?" His dad put the bag on the table. "I was very considerate and went to buy it. Yesterday, Chu Yi told me there was a place over there that sold delicious breakfast foods with a wide variety."

"You two even talked about this?" Yan Hang took out the small meal boxes from the bag one by one. "Like two old ladies."

"We were talking about people's livelihoods," his dad said. "Old ladies aren't as high-class as us."

"...Oh." Yan Hang looked at the breakfast foods in the meal boxes. Indeed, there was a wide variety, and they all looked good. He took a box of his favorite pumpkin cakes and took a bite. "Did you talk about any other livelihoods?"

"He also told me there were a few places selling clothes in the vegetable market. Although the location is very awkward, the clothes are of decent quality and cheap." His dad laughed. "But after he said that, he felt that we wouldn't go there to buy clothes. This kid is quite poor and quite amusing, but he has an inferiority complex."

"With his grandma like that, most kids would have an inferiority complex," Yan Hang said. "His mom also seems to be... not very good either."

Usually, when talking about topics like grandma and mom, Yan Hang had no feelings. But today, he inexplicably paused.

His dad must have noticed it too. He sighed softly.

Yan Hang didn't speak again and continued eating his breakfast.

His dad stood up and walked behind him. "Crown prince, your head is heavy again because you didn't sleep well, right?"

"Yeah, over two hundred pounds," Yan Hang said.

His dad reached out and scratched his head, with just the right amount of pressure. His scalp immediately felt relaxed. He leaned back in his chair and let his dad continue massaging him.

His dad went from the top of his head to the back of his head, then pinched the back of his neck, then his shoulders, very dutifully.

"Bring back some dishes and wine tonight," Dad said, "Let's have a couple of drinks and chat."

"Chat about what?" Yan Hang asked.

"What do you want to chat about?" Dad tapped on his shoulder.

Yan Hang bit his lip. After nearly a minute of making up his mind, he finally spoke: "Let's chat about how my mom died."

Dad's hand that was tapping quickly on Yan Hang's right shoulder paused for a moment, then continued tapping to his left shoulder: "Okay."

Chu Yi felt he was going to be late. When he got up, it was twenty minutes later than usual.

He didn't have an alarm clock. The phone alarm was too sluggish, either not ringing or unable to be turned off after ringing, so he always relied on his biological clock to wake up. If his biological clock failed, he could sleep until noon and no one would wake him up.

But if he got up late, he would be scolded.

"Your grades aren't that good, and you still have the nerve to oversleep," Grandma said with a cigarette in her mouth, "Can't even get up by yourself, useless!"

Chu Yi didn't say anything. He quickly washed up, grabbed his schoolbag and ran out the door.

As soon as he ran out of the building, he saw a few people standing far away at the corner of the building. He braked abruptly, turned around and ran in the opposite direction.

It was Liang Bing and a few of his friends. It seemed they had just come back from playing all night and needed something to perk them up at this time. They wouldn't let him go with just a couple of kicks, so it was better for him to avoid them.

But going out from the opposite direction meant taking a detour to school.

There was no time for breakfast now, as long as he wasn't late.

From elementary school to middle school, the number of times Chu Yi had been late could be counted on one hand.

He especially hated being late, hated entering the classroom when everyone was seated and the teacher was already at the podium, so no matter what, he tried his best not to be late.

He probably wouldn't be late today. If he skipped breakfast and ran all the way, he should arrive just before the school gate closed.

He felt a bit depressed. If he hadn't been dreaming all night and slept poorly, he wouldn't have needed to sleep in until dawn.

But it was also quite magical that Yan Hang appeared in all his dreams throughout the night.

Yan Hang stood with him by the river, ran with him, ate barbecue with him. Yan Hang held up a coin and said, "This is a lucky coin."

Actually, it wasn't really magical. As the saying goes, what you think about during the day, you dream about at night.

Yan Hang was someone he had always hoped to one day be able to communicate and chat with normally like ordinary people, like normal friends.

After waiting for a long time, once it happened, the impression would remain deep in his dreams.

When he ran to the school, the teacher on duty was about to close the gate. Chu Yi sprinted as if running for his life.

Four or five students ran in with him, all stopped by the teacher.

The school had strict management. Those who entered when the gate was closing were considered late and would be recorded and have points deducted.

But Chu Yi wasn't stopped. When he darted between the two teachers, it was as if they didn't see him.

Invisibility succeeded.

He pinched the little lucky coin wearing a leather jacket in his pocket.

It really had become a spirit, and it worked.

Li Zihao hadn't bothered him these past few days, nor had he come to ask if he had passed on the message to Yan Hang.

Of course, Chu Yi couldn't possibly actually convey those words to Yan Hang. In his view, that sentence was the same nature as "you just wait", just going through the motions.

When the atmosphere was right, it had to be said.

As for after saying it, the person who said it probably wouldn't even remember.

Compared to Li Zihao, Liang Bing was the one who made Chu Yi uneasy.

Those classmates who bullied him were fake hoodlums, not even considered fake hoodlums, just following a big shot to bully him together.

But Liang Bing wasn't. Liang Bing was a real hoodlum.

The kind you'd better avoid if you saw him.

People in that residential area would frown at the mention of Liang Bing.

Not to say he had great skills, but mainly that he had no shame.

Even Grandma, who had been invincible all her life, wouldn't normally make a scene with Liang Bing.

Chu Yi felt he was quite unlucky, running into Liang Bing on the way to school and possibly running into him again after school.

Liang Bing didn't go far, his range of activity was just around that area near home, probably considered his safe zone. If he went out of that area, he might get beaten up by others.

Anyway, when Chu Yi wanted to take the small street by Yan Hang's front door to go home at noon after school, which was his closest way home and the way he usually took, as soon as he reached the intersection, he saw Liang Bing swaggering down the street.

Fortunately, his back was to this side and he didn't see him. Chu Yi could only keep walking and take a detour home.

After making a circle and just reaching the intersection, he saw Liang Bing swaggering towards him.

Was he patrolling the streets?

"Ah!" Chu Yi let out a small frustrated cry and could only turn back again.

When he returned to the main street, he was a bit angry.

He no longer had the thought of going home for lunch. He took out his phone and called his mom.

"The school has... has something, I won't come back for lunch at noon..." Before he could finish, his mom interrupted him.

"Okay, I know, you're not coming back for lunch, right?" Mom said, "Bring back some noodles when you come back in the afternoon. Do you still have money?"

"Yes." Chu Yi said.

"Your dad is home today. When you come back, have your dad give you the money for the noodles." Mom said.

"Oh." Chu Yi responded.

After hanging up, he had no destination. He wandered on the street for a while, crossed the bridge, and wanted to go eat a bowl of noodles.

After walking a few steps, he stopped. Yan Hang should be working at the western restaurant here?

He suddenly felt a bit excited. As he walked in, he took out his phone and sent Yan Hang a message.

-Which western restaurant do you work at?

After waiting for a long time, Yan Hang still didn't reply. He looked at the time and suddenly realized it was the peak hour for eating. Yan Hang was probably busy.

He suddenly felt a bit embarrassed, so he put his phone back in his pocket and walked along the road.

Before long, he saw a western restaurant with a hiring sign at the door.

He stopped and looked inside. It should be this one? But he didn't see Yan Hang.

He hesitated for a moment, then leaned against a tree on the side and continued looking inside.

After just two or three minutes, someone walked out. Chu Yi didn't dare to look at the face, afraid it might be a waiter coming to ask why he had been standing there for so long.

"Going in?" The person walked over to him and asked.

"Ah." Chu Yi only raised his head when he heard this sound.

Yan Hang was wearing the restaurant's uniform, black with red edges, and also had an apron tied on.

The uniform was very ugly, able to compete with their school uniforms, but it looked quite nice on Yan Hang.

"Treating you to a meal," Yan Hang tilted his head, "Come."

Chu Yi followed him into the restaurant.

It smelled really good.

The entire restaurant was filled with the aroma of food, the fragrance of baked pastries, the scent of coffee, and the meaty aroma of various steaks - beef, pork and lamb.

This was his first time entering a Western restaurant.

Last year, his aunt wanted to take him to eat Western food, but his mom wouldn't let him go. In the end, his aunt could only pack two portions of steak for him.

Grandma ate while scolding for the entire evening.

Chu Yi carefully took a few bites, not even tasting the flavor.

"Sit here," Yan Hang brought him to a corner by the window, "Wait for me a bit."

"Yan Hang," Chu Yi called out to him, "Are you off, work?"

"I'm off work, it's our turn to eat now," Yan Hang said, "Sit here and wait for me steadily."

"Mm." Chu Yi nodded.

Yan Hang walked away. He was still a bit nervous. There were a few tables of customers in the shop at this time, all eating and chatting in low voices, looking very high-class.

Him sitting here in his shabby school uniform, no matter how you look at it, it seemed like he had entered the wrong place.

Fortunately, Yan Hang quickly came over, carrying a pizza in his hands, along with two drinks.

Chu Yi hurriedly stood up, preparing to go over and take them.

"Sit," Yan Hang said, placing the pizza and drinks on the table, "There's no back door to the kitchen, do you still want to go in and help wash dishes?"

"Also, okay." Chu Yi smiled and sat back down in the chair.

"Also ordered you a steak," Yan Hang said, "It'll be ready in a bit, what sauce do you want?"

"Sauce?" Chu Yi was stunned for a moment, looking at the drinks in front of him, "Isn't there already, juice?"

"Black pepper then," Yan Hang laughed, "I like black pepper sauce."

Chu Yi still hadn't recovered his wits. It wasn't until Yan Hang walked away smiling that he reacted, realizing he was talking about the sauce poured on the steak.

While waiting for the steak, he saw Yan Hang serve dishes to two tables of customers.

Very good-looking.

Yan Hang's movements were very natural, but each action exuded handsomeness. He even saw a table of young ladies take out their phones to secretly take photos.

Chu Yi felt very inspired, so he also took out his phone.

Seeing Yan Hang carrying a tray with a large lid covering it, he very discreetly aimed his phone at Yan Hang.

But.

It wasn't until Yan Hang walked right up to him that the phone's shutter made a "click" sound.

It captured a huge, blurry lid emitting white steam.

However, compared to failing at secretly taking a photo, the "click" sound of the phone was what made Chu Yi most depressed.

"Were you trying to take a photo of me or the steak." Yan Hang lifted the lid and glanced at him, the smile at the corner of his mouth almost impossible to suppress.

"You," Chu Yi looked at the steak, "The phone is not, co-cooperative."

"You should change this phone," Yan Hang poured the black pepper sauce on the steak and sat down, "My dad has a phone he just changed out of, only used for a year, why don't you take it and use it?"

"I, have," Chu Yi said, "A new one."

Yan Hang looked at him.

"Apple," Chu Yi sighed, "Aunt gave it, didn't dare let, my mom know."

"But last time when you took the shoes back, your mom didn't say anything. She won't even let you use a new phone?" Yan Hang said.

"If i-it's Aunt's, no can do." Chu Yi looked at the steak.

"The steak is yours," Yan Hang picked up a slice of pizza, "Let's eat the pizza together."

Together.

The two of us.

Chu Yi suddenly felt a very comfortable warmth.

Only after the warmth passed did he think of: "You won't, be full... full if you don't, eat?"

"Are you saying a tongue twister," Yan Hang smiled, "I'm in a bad mood today, can't eat much. You go ahead and eat."

"Oh." Chu Yi hesitantly picked up the knife and fork.

He had seen on TV how to use a knife and fork, but it was still the first time eating by stabbing like this. He cut very carefully, afraid that he would accidentally fling the meat over to Yan Hang's side.

Even Yan Hang would have times when he was in a bad mood.

Yan Hang, who was so free and easy, unconstrained by anything, would also be in a bad mood?

"What's... wrong, with you?" Chu Yi asked softly.

"Have to chat with my dad tonight." Yan Hang said.

Chu Yi forked a piece of meat and looked at him, not understanding.

"There are some things you really want to know, but are also afraid to know," Yan Hang said while eating pizza, "Feeling it's best not to know, but if you really don't know, you feel like you're not living authentically. If you do know, there's a possibility that it was all false to begin with."

Chu Yi was stunned for a long time and still didn't understand what Yan Hang was saying: "Even when you speak Chi-Chinese, you, can make it sound like, like Eng-English."

"Damn," Yan Hang laughed, "Illiterate."

"I'm in ju-junior, high," Chu Yi said, "Illiterate."

Yan Hang couldn't stop laughing, leaning against the back of the chair for a long time before stopping.

Chu Yi looked at him, feeling that Yan Hang looked very good when he laughed, and also seemed very happy.

Then why would he still be in a bad mood?