Sitting by the window, Luo Wenqiang had finished his coffee when he saw two familiar figures walking over from across the street.

Xie Yu was in front, wearing a deep gray scarf that covered half of his face.

The two of them held hands naturally, fingers intertwined. When they got closer, Xie Yu stopped and gestured for He Chao to let go of his hand.

"Haven't you held enough."

"..."

No, he hadn't.

He Chao hadn't even noticed where they had walked to. His mind was filled with the person next to him. When he heard the question, he finally saw the sign for the "Coffee House" in front of him and coughed lightly, muttering that the street was too damn short.

Inside the coffee house.

Someone was bored after scrolling through their phone for a while. They looked up and around, muttering to themselves, "Where's Brother Chao? He said he was going to pick him up, hasn't he..."

Suddenly, Luo Wenqiang's body tensed up, afraid that the person might see something they shouldn't. He quickly pressed down on their friend's head and forcibly turned them back around, trying to make small talk: "Hey Fu Pei, the weather's nice today. How about we chat about our life goals?"

"Are you crazy, Luo Wenqiang!"

There were ten people at this gathering, and most of them had their own plans for winter break. Many weren't even in the city. After finishing their meal, they planned to go to a nearby KTV to sing some songs. The group of friends held onto their dreams of becoming "singing gods" and reserved a private room.

Xie Yu rarely went to such noisy places. As soon as he walked into the lobby, he heard a cacophony of ghostly wails and wolf howls. He didn't know which private room's door was not properly closed. A middle-aged man with a hoarse voice was singing at the top of his lungs.

This karaoke bar had moderate prices and business was fairly good.

The receptionist was typing orders on the computer and couldn't help but glance at the group of high school students. The girls had simple ponytails and were wearing thick down jackets, while the boys were huddled together, bickering with each other.

He Chao put his arm around Xie Yu's shoulder from behind, making it look like he was embracing him. He leaned in and asked, "Old Xie, sing a song later?"

"Sing my foot."

"Just sing one."

Without much thought, He Chao ran through the latest popular playlist in his mind and picked out a song that everyone should have heard by now. "Can you sing 'I Love You'? It's been quite popular lately," he suggested.

Xie Yu leaned back slightly, his lips brushing against He Chao's ear as he asked again, "What song?"

He Chao was about to repeat himself when he realized what was happening. This person was definitely doing it on purpose.

He lowered his head and buried his face in Xie Yu's neck, whispering, "...You're quite mischievous, little friend."

The singing skills of Class 3 had already been showcased on the bus during their last autumn outing, but they had used a speaker then, which lacked the impact of a microphone. Luo Wenqiang eagerly chose a song and before he could sing a few lines, Xu Qingqing covered her ears and blurted out a curse word: "...F***."

Liu Cunhao happened to be selecting a song at that moment and upon hearing Xu's outburst, he comforted her, "Calm down, Brother Qing."

Wan Da chimed in, "We men need to be strong. What's a little pain? Be strong, Brother Qing."

Xu Qingqing retaliated by throwing a pillow at them.

Xie Yu stood up and took off his jacket, casually draping it over the side. Luo Wenqiang sang while looking their way, almost as if he wanted to write "Praise me, Brother Chao" on his face. He chuckled and sat back down, nudging the person next to him with his elbow, "Not praising him?"

"Not praising. This rubbish singing," He Chao said, "...I can't praise it."

After He Chao finished speaking, he leaned over and grabbed a can of beer from the table. With his index finger hooked around the tab, he opened the can with one hand and said, "People should still be sincere with each other."

Luo Wenqiang closed his eyes and sang with great intoxication. He began to sway with the rhythm and then belted out a fierce "wo~~~!"

Liu Cunhao sat on the side, enduring and enduring, but in the end couldn't resist saying, "Brothers, what were the songs that the sports committee rep just sang? I'm going to delete them."

On the large screen in front of them, a scrolling word list appeared above, with the next song written on it.

"The next song is 'Roller Skates'," Xie Yu heard it and got a headache. He really wanted to turn around and press the mute button on the control panel on the wall. "It's his."

He Chao said, "Even if we die, we should still love. Delete them all, don't leave a single one for him."

Liu Cunhao made a gesture indicating that "order received", then sneaked over to Xu Qingqing while crouching.

The lighting in the private room was dim, with the atmospheric lights flickering on and off.

Someone was adjusting the other lights, causing the room to go dark for two seconds before lighting up again. Then, the entire room was filled with stars, which rotated continuously on the ceiling and walls.

Xie Yu glanced at He Chao, and the light happened to shine on his face before dimming again.

He Chao tilted his head back and took a few sips of beer. Sensing someone's gaze, he turned to look at Xie Yu.

Feeling thirsty, Xie Yu realized that there was nothing else to drink in the room besides alcohol. These guys had completely forgotten the lesson from the last time they got drunk and had ordered another dozen beers. So, Xie Yu gestured to him to pass one over.

"..."

This person's hand was stretched out in front of him, slender and sharp, with a hint of coldness at the fingertips. He looked at it for a moment, but didn't hand over the beer can. Instead, he quickly slipped the pull tab that he hadn't thrown away yet onto the man's ring finger.

The icy pull tab slowly pushed up, finally getting stuck on the protruding bone of Xie Yu's knuckle.

Only then did He Chao hand him the beer can.

Xie Yu was stunned for a moment before retracting his hand. "What's this?" he asked.

The sound system was blaring loudly, making it hard for Xie Yu to hear what He Chao was saying. But he could still make out the three words from his lip movements: "Stamping a seal."

Luo Wenqiang had a powerful voice that was even louder than the music. When Xie Yu finished the remaining half can of beer, he felt the room getting a little hot.

"Where's my song," Luo Wenqiang was quietly waiting for the prelude of his Roller Skates to start, but after waiting for a long time, all he got was the song "I Love You." With a bewildered expression, he asked, "Who requested this song? Did someone cut in?"

He Chao stood up and took another microphone from the side, saying, "It's mine, my bad."

This small mishap didn't hinder Luo Wenqiang's performance at all. After clearing his throat, he felt in great spirits, believing he could sing non-stop for three hours. He was feeling a bit absent-minded, to the point of forgetting to think. He patted his chest and said, "I know this one too, Brother Chao, let's do a duet on a love song!"

He Zhao was just about to say, 'Who the hell wants to do that with you?'

Luo Wenqiang patted his chest, but someone unexpectedly took the microphone from his hand, leaving him empty-handed.

Although singing karaoke was voted for by everyone, no one expected to hear Xie Yu sing. According to his personality, sitting there and enduring their torture was already his limit.

Xu Qingqing was opening a snack and accidentally squeezed too hard when she saw Xie Yu grab the microphone. The potato chips almost spilled all over the floor.

Xie Yu walked past Liu Cunhao and approached the screen. His voice came through the microphone, "Which part are you singing?"

The melody was the same, only the lyrics were different.

He Chao said, "Both are fine."

As soon as He Chao finished speaking, everyone around them started to "oh" in unison.

The entire private room suddenly became lively.

They were just fooling around for fun, until Xie Yu sang the first sentence.

His voice was cold, but singing this gentle and passionate love song did not seem out of place.

As the opening lines finished, it was He Chao's turn. Holding the microphone, he missed the beat and was late by two counts.

......

Xu Qingqing tapped Xu Jing and whispered, "Does Brother Yu seem a bit gentle...or is it just me?"

Xu Jing looked at them. The final part was a duet, their voices overlapping. The private room was too dark, and only the tall and thin figures could be vaguely seen.

After the song ended, no matter how much they shouted "one more song," the two people involved didn't react much.

"You guys sing," He Chao said, "whose turn is it for the next song?"

The next song was chosen by Liu Cunhao, and Luo Wenqiang insisted on singing with him. Liu Cunhao quickly grabbed the microphone and said, "Hold him down. Luo Wenqiang, as long as you don't sing with me, we're still good brothers."

Luo Wenqiang was pinned down by two people on either side, shouting in distress, "...Isn't this too much!"

After sitting for a while, He Chao couldn't sit still. He touched Xie Yu's hand and was about to ask if he wanted to go out when he felt his phone vibrate a few times.

The room was too noisy to hear the ringtone, and by the time He Chao realized it, the ringing had stopped and an unfamiliar number was displayed on the phone screen.

Missed call.

He Chao glanced at the string of numbers, not recognizing them. He was about to throw the phone aside when it vibrated twice more, followed by a text message.

- Brother Chao, it's me, Xiaolei.

He Chao stood up, dialed the number and walked out of the private room.

He walked for a while, continuing to call. He leaned back against the wall and looked down at the brick-red carpet on the ground.

The phone was quickly answered.

Er Lei still spoke with a bit of foolishness in his voice. It was quite noisy on his end, mixed with the sound of the high-speed train ticket check reminder: "Brother Chao, are you still in City A? It's been a while since we last saw each other. I just arrived today to take care of some business...Are you free to meet up recently?"

Without thinking, He Chao reached for his pocket, only to remember that he had quit smoking and stopped carrying candy around.

Although He Chao was speaking, he wasn't fully present. He couldn't even remember what he had said. It seemed like he had asked Er Lei how he was doing and what he was up to. Er Lei mentioned that he had been doing some small business with his cousin for the past two years and was in City A for a business trip.

Er Lei dragged his luggage towards the elevator, looking up at several entrances and realizing that this City A had become somewhat unfamiliar to him. "I'll probably stay for half a month this time, Brother Jun..."

He hadn't finished speaking, but was interrupted by He Chao.

"I'm sorry."

He Chao repeated, "...I'm sorry."