Yan Hang had followed his dad to many places, but this was his first time on a plane.

His dad was afraid of heights. Once when he took Yan Hang on a Ferris wheel, his dad nearly recited his last words when they were only halfway up, while Yan Hang didn't feel much at all.

Yan Hang smiled.

The plane hadn't taken off yet. He gazed out the window at the ground that looked bleached white under the sun.

"Do you want a blanket?" Cui Yi asked. "It's an hour and a half flight, you can sleep for a bit."

"An hour and a half, flying back and forth three times is about enough time to wait for a miracle to appear where I get a bit sleepy," Yan Hang said. "I'll just space out for a while."

"I contacted a doctor for you," Cui Yi said. "After we arrive, rest well for a week first, then go have a chat?"

"Okay." Yan Hang nodded.

"I thought you would refuse," Cui Yi smiled. "So cooperative."

"Who wouldn't want to feel better if they could," Yan Hang said. "It's not like I really want to die."

Cui Yi didn't say anything and just patted him on the shoulder.

Today's flight was delayed by half an hour, which was still considered fast.

When the broadcast told everyone to turn off their phones, Cui Yi glanced at him. "Phone off?"

"It was already off when I came to find you, hasn't been turned on since." Yan Hang said.

"Did you say goodbye to your friends?" Cui Yi asked.

"...Friends," Yan Hang paused, feeling a wave of melancholy as soon as he thought of Chu Yi. "I didn't."

Cui Yi was stunned. "You didn't tell any friends you were leaving?"

"No." Yan Hang said.

Cui Yi looked at him without speaking.

"I... actually," Yan Hang spoke hesitantly, his voice very soft, "I don't know how to say goodbye."

"You've never said goodbye to anyone?" Cui Yi also lowered his voice.

"Yeah," Yan Hang turned his head to look out the window at the slowly moving scenery. "Wherever I went, I never got to know anyone, so there was no need to say goodbye to anyone."

"Oh." Cui Yi responded, thought for a moment and sighed again.

"I don't even know what to say," Yan Hang said, "so that he won't be sad."

"Who?" Cui Yi asked.

"A little kid." Yan Hang smiled.

Cui Yi's home was in a peaceful second-tier city. Yan Hang had never been there with his dad, but had been to a nearby small town with beautiful scenery and a river much prettier than the one by Chu Yi's tree hole.

They only stayed there for about half a month. Yan Hang would sit by the river for a while every day.

The day they left, he saw two sand dredging boats, instantly stirring the clear river water into a muddy soup.

It would have been better if they had left a day earlier, then the image of that clear and pleasant river would remain forever in his memory.

"I rented an apartment for you in the same community as my home," Cui Yi said. "Actually, I live alone, so you could stay at my place too, but I figured you wouldn't want to."

"Yeah." Yan Hang smiled.

"I'll take you there first. When you're rested and want to go out later, give me a call and I'll take you to eat." Cui Yi said.

"Thank you." Yan Hang said.

"You're welcome." Cui Yi replied.

This standard response amused Yan Hang.

The community Cui Yi lived in was an old one, but very large with an excellent internal environment. The landscaping was done very diligently, with water features and small woods inside the community.

The apartment he rented for Yan Hang was at the very back of the community, a small one-bedroom unit on the top floor, close to a low hill and very quiet.

"Is it okay?" Cui Yi opened the door and handed him the key.

"It's great." Yan Hang looked around. The bedroom balcony faced the hill, and he could imagine how refreshing it would feel to wake up to a view of lush greenery in the morning.

"Then rest for a bit first," Cui Yi said. "The place was cleaned before, so you can stay right away. Everything is provided, and I bought some daily necessities too. If you're still missing anything, there's a supermarket in the community."

"Okay." Yan Hang responded.

Cui Yi didn't say anything else and turned to leave very decisively.

Yan Hang sat down on the sofa and closed his eyes.

Cui Yi made him feel very relaxed, without any excessive courtesies from an elder to a younger person. He said what he needed to and left.

The so-called rest was actually just sitting for a while, walking around the apartment to see what else he needed to buy, since this time... it might be the longest he would stay in one place, so he would need more things.

The apartment was fully furnished and decorated, with all the furniture and appliances provided, even the wooden floors that Yan Hang liked most.

Yan Hang walked around the place barefoot and stood on the balcony for a while.

Then he went back inside and took out his luggage.

Clothes, books, small trinkets, that was it.

There was a small bookshelf in the bedroom. Yan Hang put the books on it, arranging them neatly in a row.

These books were all found by his dad for him. Normally, if there were books he didn't need, he wouldn't take them when moving.

But this time he brought all the books, as they all carried traces of his dad. If discarded, they would be gone forever.

There was also a small tin box on the bookshelf. Yan Hang picked it up and looked at it. It was empty, with a picture of a little flower fairy printed on the lid... He didn't know if it belonged to the landlord or the previous tenant.

Little flower fairy it is then. Yan Hang put his small trinkets inside.

In addition to the previous items, there was also a fountain pen and a small piece of red string.

Seeing these things, Yan Hang suddenly felt alarmed and quickly felt his ankle. The small stone was still there, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

After struggling for a long time between the two options of putting the small stone in the box or continuing to tie it around his ankle, he still chose the latter.

It took less than five minutes to organize the simple luggage. He went to the kitchen and saw that cooking for himself would be no problem at all. There was even a whole case of iced red tea in the fridge.

This must have been instructed by his dad.

He stared at the iced red tea. The longing for his dad that he had been trying hard to ignore these past days suddenly surged up without warning.

He closed the fridge door and leaned against the wall, spacing out for a long time.

He had no clue whether his dad was alive or dead, or where he was.

He was too clear about his dad's abilities. If he was still alive and didn't want to be found, then it really wouldn't be easy to find him.

He had looked for Liang Bing two days ago, but there were no more clues on Liang Bing's side.

The only thing that could be known was that Old Ding wanted Liang Bing to block his father's retreat, after all, that side was a busy street, with many people, making it too easy to either escape or seek help.

But his father didn't walk in that direction.

As for why, Yan Hang could probably guess, because further in were all old residential areas and old streets, with incomplete surveillance coverage. Based on Yan Hang's understanding of his father, whenever he went out for a stroll, checking out places without surveillance was just a casual thing, after all, he was an old fox who remained three parts alert even in his sleep.

But that blood.

Such a large amount of blood, indicating that he was severely injured. How could he, with such injuries, avoid surveillance and disappear?

What Yan Hang could determine now was that someone had picked him up.

The person who called before he left was the one who picked him up.

Who was it?

Yan Hang returned to the living room, knowing that for the time being, he couldn't possibly analyze anything useful out of this matter.

He checked the time, it was time for dinner. Cui Yi was still waiting to have dinner with him. Although he could now fast for half a month, Cui Yi needed to eat.

Yan Hang took out his phone to make a call, but hesitated after taking it out.

Chu Yi should already know that he had left, right?

He left without saying goodbye, without even leaving any message.

He was afraid, not knowing how to face such a farewell.

He had never left any memories anywhere, or with anyone, except for that place, and Chu Yi. But it was precisely these memories that made him have no idea what to say or do.

And Chu Yi didn't know.

Chu Yi only knew that he had left without a word.

Yan Hang held the phone, turning it over and over in his hand.

After several minutes, he saw a small paper bag on the coffee table.

It was a phone card.

It should have been prepared by Cui Yi.

This person was very thoughtful. Yan Hang had taken a look in the bathroom earlier, not only were shampoo, shower gel, toothpaste and toothbrush all prepared, even shaving cream was there.

What a huge contrast to his father. How could two such people be friends, and even have a relationship where one could... entrust the other with his child.

Although the two had very consistent tastes when it came to choosing fake names.

Yan Hang put the new card into his phone. He didn't throw away the old card, but put it in that small box. And he knew that he would always keep that card topped up.

But he also knew it wasn't for his father's sake, because if his father wanted to find him, he definitely wouldn't contact him directly, but would contact Cui Yi first.

It was probably for Chu Yi.

Even though he couldn't find the right way to say goodbye, he would keep the means of contact.

It was a bit funny.

Cui Yi lived in the building next door. After receiving his call, he was waiting for him downstairs.

When he went downstairs, Cui Yi was taking a photo of a flower in front of the building with his phone.

"Taking a photo of the flower?" Yan Hang asked as he approached.

"Shh." Cui Yi said.

As soon as he finished shushing, a butterfly flew up from the flower, flapping its wings and flying into the flowerbed.

"Sorry." Yan Hang said.

"Just taking a casual shot," Cui Yi said, "The fairies in my friends circle are all posting flowers and plants. It's really too discordant for me to keep posting skewers."

Yan Hang smiled.

"Let's go, time to eat." Cui Yi put away his phone.

"What are we having?" Yan Hang asked.

"Skewers," Cui Yi said, "Or is there anything you want to eat?"

"Just skewers." Yan Hang said.

Cui Yi seemed to be a regular at this skewer restaurant. As soon as they entered, all the servers recognized him. After ordering the skewers, the boss personally brought over a large fruit platter.

"You're actually not alone today?" The boss said.

"Yeah," Cui Yi pointed at Yan Hang, "My godson."

"Looks quite like you." The boss said.

"How have you managed to keep the restaurant open for more than a decade with this level of emotional intelligence." Cui Yi sighed.

The boss was stunned for a moment before reacting, and laughed, "I mean, both handsome, both handsome."

"Hurry up and grill." Cui Yi waved his hand.

After the boss left, he looked at Yan Hang, "You really do look exactly like your dad."

"How long have you two known each other?" Yan Hang asked.

"Longer than you've known him," Cui Yi smiled, "Those years when he was at his most arrogant in the jianghu."

"How did you two meet?" Yan Hang asked again.

"About that," Cui Yi paused for a moment, his eyes drifting a bit, as if recalling, but in the end, he just smiled, "It's too long a story to tell."

Yan Hang didn't ask further.

"Your birthday is next month, right?" Cui Yi asked.

"Yeah," Yan Hang glanced at him, "Did my dad tell you?"

"No, I always remembered," Cui Yi said, "Just couldn't remember the exact date. I went to see you when you were born, tiny little thing, really ugly. Never thought you'd grow up to be like this."

"...Oh." Yan Hang didn't know how to respond.

"If you want to find a place to work, I can ask around for you," Cui Yi said, "Have you thought about it?"

"I've always wanted to work in a Western restaurant," Yan Hang said, "A proper one, just don't know if it's possible."

"Your English is pretty good, right?" Cui Yi said, "Your dad bragged about it to me."

"Not bad." Yan Hang laughed, unable to imagine what his father looked like when bragging about him to others.

"I'll ask around for you," Cui Yi pushed the plate in front of him, "Eat."

Chu Yi was pressed against the back of a tree, staring at the door of Yan Hang's home.

No, that place was no longer Yan Hang's home.

The landlady said that he had already moved out in the morning.

Already moved out.

Although Yan Hang had told him from the beginning that they wouldn't stay in one place for long, and he had a strong premonition a few days ago that Yan Hang would leave.

But he didn't expect it to be so sudden.

Yan Hang didn't even leave him a single word before leaving.

Chu Yi felt very upset.

Very upset.

He had never experienced this kind of feeling before. This upset even overshadowed his father being involved in a murder case, overshadowed him being called the son of a murderer.

In addition to being upset, there was also an indescribable feeling of being stifled.

Yan Hang had only left this morning.

Just this morning.

While he was sitting on the bus back, Yan Hang had left.

If he had come back a day earlier, contacted Yan Hang a little earlier, would it have been so sudden?

At least they could have seen each other one more time.

Asked him if he would come back, asked him where he was going.

And now, he didn't even have a single photo of Yan Hang left.

The only thing stored in his phone was the huge steaming pot lid he captured when secretly taking a picture of Yan Hang.

It hurt.

Having never had a friend before, only now did he realize for the first time how painful it was to lose one.

Late at night, with no one left on the streets, he emerged from behind the tree and ran across the road.

He took out a card he had randomly picked up from the ground earlier, which had "24-hour locksmith" printed on it.

After looking around, he inserted the card into the door crack next to the lock, gently shook it, pushed it in, and the door opened.

The lock was very old, so the landlord had installed three latches and a padlock inside to reassure the tenants. But now, with no one living there, naturally it wasn't locked.

Chu Yi entered the house, closed the door properly, and stood in the middle of the living room.

In the darkness, he could smell the faint, almost imperceptible scent of smoke.

He walked into Yan Hang's bedroom and struggled to turn on the light on his phone, looking at the now empty room.

Everything was gone. Although there wasn't much in Yan Hang's bedroom to begin with, the emptiness now made it hard to breathe.

The light from the phone illuminated the empty bed, the empty desktop, the empty chair back, and the empty wardrobe one by one.

After turning around, he suddenly stopped, but the phone went dark. He anxiously pressed the phone's buttons while walking towards the desk, reaching out to feel the tabletop.

Just as his hand touched the small bottle, the phone lit up.

Yan Hang hadn't taken the sleeping spray with him.

Looking at the sleeping spray in his hand, Chu Yi suddenly felt a sense of ecstasy.

He gently shook the bottle; at least more than half was left!

Opening the lid, he sprayed it once, and the air was filled with a faint fragrance, instantly reminding him of the night he lay beside Yan Hang.

He put the sleeping spray in his pants pocket.

Although he didn't know why Yan Hang hadn't told him when he left, hadn't said goodbye to him, he could forcibly assume that this sleeping spray was specially left for him by Yan Hang.

On the day of the final exam, Chu Yi went downstairs to the sound of his grandmother arguing with the neighbors.

The road from home to school felt a bit unfamiliar to him, as if he hadn't walked it for a long time.

He ran into Li Zihao on the way.

Li Zihao was a bit unusual. Normally, when they met, Li Zihao would definitely come over to mock him a few times and slap him a couple of times, but today he only glanced at him.

When Chu Yi looked at him, his eyes even seemed a bit evasive.

It wasn't until he was almost at the school that Chu Yi suddenly realized.

It was probably because he had beaten up Liang Bing.

Pretty good.

Chu Yi felt a bit happy; at least Li Zihao probably wouldn't easily cause trouble for him in the future.

However, this happiness was a bit hard to maintain after entering the school.

Chu Yi didn't think his hearing was particularly good, but in the short distance from the school gate to the classroom, he heard his name being spoken in a tone of horror and disgust at least four times.

The son of a murderer who had suddenly erupted with a violent nature.

That was probably the image of himself in everyone's eyes at this moment.

In this atmosphere, Chu Yi almost couldn't even hold on for the three days of the final exam.

From a young age, he had tried to make himself invisible, to not be seen by people, to not appear in everyone's sight. He was used to quietly staying in a corner by himself.

And now all of this had been shattered. No matter where he went, he could feel the stares.

After the last subject was over, he returned home, and even when his grandmother asked him to go buy cigarettes, he was a bit reluctant.

Whether it was being the son of a murderer or a "honest person" who solved problems with violence, he found it hard to adapt.

"What are you dawdling for!" His grandmother glared at him with a cigarette in her mouth. "Your father has made this family like this! Are you trying to throw your weight around too? Will running an errand scrape the skin off your balls?"

Chu Yi jumped up, grabbed the money his grandmother had thrown on the table, and went out the door.

As he went downstairs, he violently shook the stair railing a few times and kicked it twice.

The irritation in his body made him feel like his back was covered in sweat.

When he walked to the entrance of the convenience store, a few people swayed out from inside.

It was Liang Bing and his lackeys.

"Well, well." Liang Bing's eyes changed the moment he saw him.

Chu Yi habitually stopped and took a step back.

Liang Bing casually grabbed a mop from the side of the convenience store and rushed over.

As Chu Yi turned to run away, the mop hit him on the waist.

His body was covered in injuries from the fight with Liang Bing the other day that hadn't healed yet. When he showered, he could see large bruises all over his body.

The mop hit the largest bruise on his waist.

The pain that had already become blurry instantly awakened, piercing through him.

"You don't have anyone to back you up now, do you!" Liang Bing followed up with a kick to his back. "Let's see if you're still so damn arrogant!"

Chu Yi's neck jerked back from the kick, and he fell to his knees on the ground. Then, following the momentum, he lunged forward, stirring up a cloud of dust as his hands hit the ground covered in gravel.

"Hey!" The convenience store owner ran out. "What are you doing! You're beating someone up right here! Liang Bing, you're too much of a thug!"

"Shut up!" Liang Bing glared at the owner.

The convenience store was right next to a few buildings, and quite a few neighbors who had known each other for over a decade were coming and going, all looking over here now.

Liang Bing threw down the mop, glanced at Chu Yi, turned around, and walked towards the street with his lackeys.

Chu Yi slowly stood up and picked up the mop from the ground.

Back him up?

He had never needed anyone to back him up. Yan Hang helping him wasn't backing him up; that was a friend.

But since this had already started, Chu Yi stepped on the mop head with his foot, grabbed the handle with his hand, and snapped it with a crack.

Then so be it.

He picked up the stick and walked after Liang Bing. "Liang Bing."

Liang Bing turned around.

Chu Yi swung the stick and smashed it into his face.

When the stick hit Liang Bing's head, it made his back go numb.

Shocked cries rang out all around.

Liang Bing seemed to be stunned by the blow, standing there motionless. A few seconds later, blood flowed down from his hairline.

"You... mother... fucker..." Liang Bing said in shock and bewilderment. Chu Yi snapped back to his senses as one of the henchmen rushed towards him. He swung the stick again, charging forward and smashing it against the henchman's shoulder.

The stick shattered with a loud crack.

Half of the broken stick flew towards the convenience store owner, who jumped up as if he had been stabbed. "Chu Yi!"

As Chu Yi prepared to swing a third time, the owner stepped in front of him. "Chu Yi! What are you doing?"

"Oh my goodness!" an elderly woman shrieked in terror.

Chu Yi pointed at Liang Bing. "From now on, when you see me, walk the other way."

Liang Bing seemed to be in a daze from the blow, staring at Chu Yi for a long time without moving.

"Go," the owner turned his head and yelled at Liang Bing, "or do you want to fight more?"

Liang Bing finally raised his hand to touch his face, staring at his blood-covered hand for a moment before saying in a dreamlike state, "Let's go."

The owner took the stick from Chu Yi's hand and looked at him. "Are you crazy?"

"No." Chu Yi smiled.

"Then why did you beat someone up?" The owner was still staring at him.

"Ah," Chu Yi responded, walking into the store. He took out money from his pocket and placed it on the counter. "Cigarettes."

The owner handed him the cigarettes, still looking shocked.

Chu Yi put the cigarettes in his pocket and walked out, not heading home but onto the small street instead.

After delivering those two blows, Liang Bing seemed to be in a daze, but Chu Yi suddenly felt as refreshed as if he had drunk a basin of cool oil, so clear-headed that he could feel his eyes shining.

He could no longer be the old Chu Yi. If he couldn't, then so be it.

Yan Hang had left without telling him anything.

But Yan Hang was the most beautiful scenery in his life for so many years.

He admired Yan Hang's boldness and free-spiritedness. He was attracted to his gentleness, even knowing that Yan Hang could also be fragile enough to fall into darkness. He still wanted to be like Yan Hang.

To be like Yan Hang.

Chu Yi wandered aimlessly on the street for a few rounds before finally entering a stationery store.

He bought the cheapest spiral notebook and returned home.

"Buying a pack of cigarettes took you over an hour!" Grandma sat on the sofa. "Did you go and grow the tobacco yourself?"

Chu Yi didn't say a word. He put the cigarettes next to Grandma's hand and sat down at the small desk.

He opened the notebook.

He planned to write something, not quite a diary, but just to record a few things.

- Get a haircut tomorrow.

- Go boxing.

- Yan Hang.

Yan Hang, Yan Hang, Yan Hang.