The Dalei family was still the same, even the indentation on the TV and the crack in the corner of the screen were familiar.

It was caused by Da Mei accidentally smashing it, and at the time, even he was scared, thinking, "It's not broken, is it?"

Da Mei even had a plan to sell himself to pay for it.

But Dalei waved his hand and said, "It's impossible for it to be broken. If it really did break, my mom would have to thank you. This TV has a particularly strong fate. My mom has been waiting for it to break for a long time, just so she can find an excuse to get a new one...See, there's no problem at all."

Xie Yu played for a while but then stopped, stuffing the messy quilt on Zhou Dalei's bed into the corner to make some space. He leaned against the headboard, half lying on the bed, and looked down at the messages in the class group.

[Liu Cunhao]: Let me tell you guys, my dad came home drunk yesterday and hugged the toilet, calling out my mom's name affectionately. My mom almost kicked him into the toilet...

[Wan Da]: Your dad is too exaggerated.

[Luo Wenqiang]: Is he still alive?

He Chao got up early and Xie Yu had just received a private message from him, but before he could reply, he saw him popping up in the group chat.

[He Chao]: You two above, stop joking.

[He Chao]: Compared to Hao-zi's dad, you guys are nothing. Do you want me to repeat your heroic deeds here?

Wan Da immediately became honest and had to bow down in the face of his dark history.

[Wan Da]: ...hahaha, oh well, I suddenly remembered that I haven't finished my homework yet. See you later, friends.

[Luo Wenqiang]: See you later.

Xie Yu looked on as the two people who said "see you later" soon reappeared, lamenting that there was too much homework.

With this much free time, they could have finished a set of test papers.

Zhou Dalei was bored playing games alone and distractedly saw that Boss Xie seemed to be in a good mood: "What's making you so happy?"

"The group's chatting," Xie Yu explained briefly, "got drunk and mistook the toilet for his wife, too much homework."

Zhou Dalei: "..."

Zhou Dalei: "Oh."

If it weren't for his long-standing acquaintance with this big boss, Xie Yu would have no idea what he was talking about with his economical use of words and roundabout way of storytelling.

After saying "oh," Zhou Dalei couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off. He wondered what it could be.

"Fuck me - the class group chat?" Two minutes later, Zhou Dalei almost jumped up after throwing down his game controller.

"What's with your reaction." Xie Yu asked.

"A surprised one," Zhou Dalei said. "I...I never thought this would happen."

Xie Yu had originally planned to just leave, but the words that He Chao whispered in his ear last night about the class group chat and the class representative kept echoing in his mind. So, Xie Yu hesitated for a moment and decided to leave a mark before leaving.

He scrolled through the emoji options and finally found a friendly-looking smiley face.

Then, all the online students in Class 3 saw a cold and mocking expression that did not fit their aesthetic preferences suddenly appear in the chat box.

Xie Yu: [slight smile].

[Wan Da]: ...

[Liu Cunhao]: ...

[Luo Wenqiang]: ...

The group immediately fell silent.

Only their Brother Chao remained unfazed.

[He Chao]: Good morning, Old Xie. Have you eaten yet?

Xie Yu tapped his finger on the screen twice, but before he could send the message, He Chao called him. Feeling a bit sleepy, Xie Yu answered and asked, "Yes, I've eaten. What's up?"

He Chao chuckled, "Nothing much, just wanted to hear your voice."

"Is that your model answer again?"

"...No, no," He Chao thought the little friend might have misunderstood him, "Where are you?"

"I'm at the home of the person who wrote a good self-criticism," Xie Yu glanced at the bed that looked like a dog's nest and although he was a bit disgusted, he couldn't find anywhere else to sleep. He added, "...Is there anything else? If not, I'll go back to sleep."

What the hell, go back to sleep?

He Chao connected the two sentences and felt a bit uneasy, "Where are you sleeping?"

"On the bed, where else?" Xie Yu replied.

"Oh," after a pause, He Chao heard himself say in a muffled voice, "My little friend is going to sleep in another man's bed."

"..." This guy is crazy.

Zhou Dalei was still sitting on the ground playing games, but Xie Yu suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable. This discomfort stemmed from flirting with his boyfriend in front of his longtime good friend. "I'm hanging up."

He Chao was just joking around. He thought he might hear a few sweet words, but when he didn't, he felt it was fine too. After all, as long as it was him, anything was fine: "Mm, you go to sleep."

As soon as He Chao hung up the phone, he popped a candy in his mouth, set his phone aside, and continued to look down at his test paper. He had just finished reading the questions and was organizing his thoughts when his phone screen lit up again.

It was a text message.

From the cutest little friend in the world: Another man my ass.

Just a few simple words, with a not-so-nice tone, as cold as ever. But He Chao stared at it for a long time. By the time he reacted, there was no more thought process left in his brain. He just wanted to go to the playground and run a few laps while screaming.

Fuck!

What the hell!

It's a confession!

It's all mine!

After hanging up the phone and sending a text, Xie Yu slept until noon. Finally, Zhou Dalei woke him up, "Boss Xie, look at the time, it's almost lunchtime. Why hasn't Aunt Mei come back yet? I'm starving."

At noon, the sunlight was brighter outside, and it shone into the balcony. The alley was still bustling, and Xie Yu could hear a couple arguing, their voices clear enough to be heard half a street away.

Xie Yu sat up and looked outside. He saw an auntie on the opposite balcony, listening to the argument while munching on sunflower seeds. She casually suggested, "...Why are you arguing? Why don't you just fight it out? How long are you going to keep arguing?"

:...

Xie Yu didn't know if he slept poorly or if he was bothered by the noise, but his right eyelid kept twitching. He gently pressed on his eyelid with his hand and said, "Ask her."

As Zhou Dalei dialed the number, no one answered.

After several attempts, he finally got through to Xu Yanmei, who sounded rushed and asked them to go to a restaurant and wait for her to return later that evening. Without explaining further, she hung up.

"It must be something urgent, probably related to the work at Guangmao," Zhou Dalei speculated as he put his phone back in his pocket and stood up. "What do you say we go out and grab a bite to eat?"

There weren't many places to eat in the area, just a few snack shops, and they were all empty. Apart from those that looked like unlicensed businesses, the only food available was from street vendors.

"Kiddo, long time no see!" The owner of one of the shops greeted them warmly as they passed by. Zhou Dalei had been considering other options, but now they had no choice but to go in. "Come, come, come, what would you like to eat?"

Zhou Dalei found a seat by the window and said, "Two signature dishes, please."

Xie Yu picked up his chopsticks and asked, "You know the owner?"

"Not really, but this restaurant gives a twenty percent discount if you report my nickname, Lei-zai," Zhou Dalei replied. "And the owner couldn't pass a level in a mobile game, so I helped him out."

Xie Yu immediately thought of the dress-up game when he heard that. Zhou Dalei claimed to be a master of all games on the market, but he probably had never played in this genre.

As they chatted aimlessly, the smell of cooking oil and the sound of gas ignition drifted in from the kitchen. After about ten minutes, the owner brought out two bowls of rice with toppings. "Enjoy these signature dishes!"

The boss brought out the food and walked towards the back kitchen where two young men in aprons were chatting.

Xie Yu had just touched the edge of his bowl and hadn't even picked up his chopsticks when he heard the muffled voices of the two men through the kitchen door. "Guangmao? I heard...yeah...fighting..."

The two men continued their conversation until the kitchen door suddenly swung open. They saw the young man who had been sitting by the window standing at the doorway, his face cold as he asked, "What fighting?"

The two men were momentarily stunned, but quickly responded, "Ah, fighting...over at Guangmao. There's trouble brewing with a group of people, it might turn into a fight."

Meanwhile, Zhou Dalei had only taken a few bites of his food when the agitated Boss Xie grabbed him by the collar and dragged him outside. Once they were out of the restaurant, Zhou was completely confused, "What's going on? Were there droppings in the food?"

"What did Aunt Mei say to you just now?" Xie Yu didn't let go and asked, "What did she say?"

After turning right on this street and going straight, they would soon reach Guangmao.

Zhou Dalei also realized that something was off and recalled, "I have some urgent matters to attend to, so I might be late? That's all."

Thinking back now, Comrade Xu Yanmei's tone was too gentle. Even when a delivery was half an hour late in the past, she could scold for a full half hour without repeating herself. Today, she didn't even express any anger about wasting her precious time. On the contrary, she was so calm.

Xie Yu let go of his hand. "Let's go."

"Huh?"

"Let's go and take a look."

"..."

Following the route planned on his phone's navigation, He Chao took two buses before arriving at a place that looked similar to the photos posted on a certain person's social media. As soon as he got off the bus, he found it difficult to walk on the bumpy road.

He Chao had a good chat with an old man next to him on the bus. The old man even invited him to his home after they got off the bus.

"No, thank you," He Chao declined, surprised by the warmth of the people in this area. "I have something important to do."

The old man tried to persuade him again, "What's so urgent that you can't spare a moment for a drink of water?"

He Chao smiled, "I'm looking for someone, a very important person."

He Chao couldn't say whether he was acting impulsively or not. Since receiving that text message in the morning, he had managed to resist going for a run, but he couldn't resist the urge to come and find him.

He wanted to see him.

Really wanted to.

After wandering around for a while, He Chao couldn't find the place he was looking for. He didn't even remember the name of that friend from the station, let alone where he lived.

When Xie Yu received He Chao's call, he was still at the entrance of Guangmao. Their group of people was facing another group of fierce and intimidating figures, with the atmosphere tense.

Before He Chao could even speak, Xie Yu held a stick in his hand and said, "I'm busy now, let's talk after I finish fighting."