He wasn't very used to eating with others. At the beginning of his undergraduate studies, as a show of friendliness, the four of them often moved around together.

Later, some moved out, and those who didn't found other meal companions. He was happy to be left alone. It was better than in junior high, when he would eat with classmates, and the person across from him would look at the food he got with an expression of pity, compassion, and helplessness.

Now, Cheng Shuo was sitting across from him, smiling as he handed over his phone. "If you like spicy food, this place's Green Sichuan Pepper Pickled Fish Noodles is delicious. I know the owner; it's not pre-made."

Cen Zeng subconsciously leaned back first. The distance between the tables and chairs here was small, and he could clearly hear the other person's breathing.

Still too close.

"Do you have anything not spicy?" he asked.

Cheng Shuo wrinkled his nose and said, "I feel like their Fish Maw Chicken Rice Noodles is also pretty good. My childhood friend usually orders this when he's hungover."

Cen Zeng lowered his head and still ordered the Green Sichuan Pepper.

Cheng Shuo took it back and glanced at it, very happy. "My taste is trustworthy."

Cen Zeng looked at him and nodded.

A very cozy little shop, and the prices were very reasonable. Was it chosen specially for him?

He wasn't used to making such deductions; it seemed utterly narcissistic. But he couldn't help but overthink it. After all, this person understood him well enough and had a certain subtle patience. He now regretted not listening more when others gossiped about him.

"Do you have any homework to do later?" In between slurps of noodles, Cheng Shuo took a sip of Arctic Ocean Soda. "If not, how about coming upstairs to play mahjong with us? We're short one player, and then we can have a late-night snack?"

"I don't know how to play mahjong."

"We're playing Sichuan Mahjong; it's very simple. You'll definitely learn it in no time."

Cen Zeng wanted to ask if all of this had been specially arranged by him.

But looking at the other person's smiling and expectant eyes, he thought, 'forget it'.

There was nothing wrong with it. He didn't actually dislike mahjong that much, and even less did he want the person across from him to stop smiling.

He didn't say anything more. Cheng Shuo leaned closer and asked, "How about it, Doctor Cen?"

"Not a doctor yet," he replied. "Let's play. You teach me."

Cheng Shuo let out a sigh of relief on the other side. Cen Zeng probably didn't know that the moment he saw the living person standing by the streetlight looking at him from outside the coffee shop window, he had been on the verge of tears.

He suddenly forgave everything, forgave this person who had attempted suicide three times, who dared to make him let go of himself, and who could still nonchalantly tell him cold jokes by the fallen leaves.

What else could he do?

In fact, it wasn't even about forgiveness, just relief.

He smiled and replied, "Satisfaction guaranteed."

Originally, he considered having Cen Zeng play a simple RPG game, like Disco Elysium. But worried the other person might find it awkward, he decided to set up a mahjong game that was short one player.

He had already told Zhang Yijie that Cen Zeng looked a bit like Xing Ji, and also asked him to tell Zhou Tianjun that he was rather reserved, so as not to scare him.

He and Zhou Tianjun weren't close, but his impression of the guy was pretty good.

Zhang Yijie sent three 'you're crazy' stickers, and finally replied with resignation, 'Then you'd better not let this one find out'.

He, on the other hand, would rather Cen Zeng get angry with him. At least that would prove the other person still cared about the mortal world on a basic level, instead of being completely detached while plotting how to die.

So he replied, 'I'm kind of looking forward to it'.

Zhang Yijie was speechless, saying, 'Don't get yourself into a fall'.

After eating, Cen Zeng followed Cheng Shuo into the elevator. Before entering the apartment, he took a deep breath.

Cheng Shuo turned his head and smiled, saying, "We really are short one player, just for fun. There are two people inside, one is my idiot childhood friend, and the other I met while drinking."

He spoke crisply, pulled open the door, and got a pair of slippers for Cen Zeng from underneath.

Zhang Yijie said, "Cheng Shuo and I are in the same major." Zhou Tianjun took a drag from his e-cigarette, stood up, and just as he was about to speak, he actually smiled.

This guy was a cool dude with a buzz cut and a large floral tattoo sleeve, looking quite tough. They first met when this guy brought a bottle of tequila over to their booth.

Zhang Yijie thought the guy was drunk and looking for trouble, but he opened his mouth with a gentle southern accent, saying, "I often see you guys at this bar. How about we get to know each other and be friends?"

Drinking? It completely baffled him.

"Teacher Xiao Cen..." Zhou Tianjun began, "Long time no see."

Cen Zeng obviously hadn't expected this either. He paused, nodded, and said, "Is Xiao Wei adjusting well to university? The second year is for building a foundation."

"Pretty well, it's just that she insisted on applying to a university in the northeast all by herself. A young girl going so far away, sigh."

"She wants to go into aerospace. The school is good, her scores were suitable, and she knows what she's doing. Let her be."

"You two know each other?" Zhang Yijie interrupted their conversation.

A genuine smile appeared on Zhou Tianjun's face. "Teacher Cen tutored my younger sister in science for her senior year of high school two years ago. My sister said he taught better than her school teachers. After the college entrance exams, she wanted to introduce him to others, but he said he was too busy with school, so he declined."

"Teacher Cen..." Cheng Shuo laughed, "Are you still running your tutoring class?"

"Busy giving psychological counseling to mice," Cen Zeng replied faintly.

It was originally supposed to be a game to accompany a novice. When Cheng Shuo invited Zhou Tianjun over, he even said that his drinks at Quiet Night Bar next time would be on his tab.

Now, the guy was even more proactive than him, asking Cen Zeng if he had ever played mahjong before. None of the three were from Sichuan, so although they called it Sichuan Mahjong, they played it rather casually.

Cheng Shuo listened for a moment and felt inexplicably annoyed. He cut in and began explaining the special winning hands in Sichuan Mahjong: Seven Pairs, All Pungs, Scooping the Moon from the Bottom of the Sea.

He leaned closer, and Cen Zeng could smell the familiar base notes of his cologne. He calmly relaxed.

The two of them were tripping over each other to speak, leaving Zhang Yijie utterly speechless. "Stop, stop, stop. Let's play a few rounds first and see. If you two keep talking, you're just going to confuse him."

Cen Zeng, however, was listening in the middle, nodding from time to time. At this moment, he raised his head, looked at him, and gave a very faint smile.

He was quite good-looking, an order of magnitude colder than Xing Ji. He wondered if he was also an order of magnitude more difficult to handle. No wonder Cheng Shuo immediately started fanning his tail feathers like a peacock. Zhang Yijie was terrified of his childhood friend's competitive spirit.

Cheng Shuo fed tiles to Cen Zeng so shamelessly that everyone at the table, including the novice, could see it.

Cen Zeng won another hand. He looked down at his Flower on the Kong, smiled, and said "thank you" to Cheng Shuo.

Cheng Shuo smiled back, "As long as you're happy."

Zhang Yijie saw it was time, nodded at Cheng Shuo's signal, and slipped out with Zhou Tianjun.

Only the two of them were left.

"Thank you for today..." Cen Zeng said, "You said you were short one player, but this was a specially arranged game, wasn't it?"

Cheng Shuo was helpless. "Even if you figured it out, don't expose it. It makes me lose face."

"I don't know..." Cen Zeng said this, then lowered his head to organize the chips and mahjong tiles on the table. "I feel like I should say something else."

Cheng Shuo packed the things into the box, deftly scooped up the dice, and tossed them again. Two sixes. His technique was dazzling, but his expression was very gentle. "You don't have to say anything. The fact that you came is good enough."

"What is it you want?" Cen Zeng asked.

'What are you really thinking?' Cheng Shuo wanted to ask. 'Do you have to calculate what you can give in exchange? In that case, you owe me far too much, Cen Zeng. So much that it's a bit impossible to repay.'

"Didn't I tell you the first time we met?" Cheng Shuo smiled.

Cen Zeng frowned from across the table.

"If you can't remember, then don't think about it. Why think so much? Can't it just be because I like the look of you? When you receive love letters, do you also ask each person, what is it you really want?"

He was joking, but Cen Zeng looked up and answered him, "I usually don't open them."

Cheng Shuo was amused. "Then you just wait. Next time I'll write you a letter and force you to open it."

"Okay," the man replied. "I will write you one back."

Cheng Shuo thought, 'Actually, it's me writing you back'.

[Author's Note]

A type of winning hand in Sichuan Mahjong

Zhou Tianjun appeared a long time ago, on a certain day of a certain month when Zhang Yijie asked Cheng Shuo out for drinks and was rejected.

He's a happy, pure sis-con.

If we must talk about heartbreak:

Xiao Cheng: Shattered to pieces for peace.

Xiao Cen: The heart is an organ. It cannot shatter.

Me: In that case, could one of you please have your heart skip a beat for me to see?