After leaving the barbershop, Gu Zhuoyan and Zhuang Fanxin walked back under the shade of the trees. This was an old street, with old trees, and the shops lining it had all been open for over a decade.

Across the road was an old brick wall, and behind it was a famous person's former residence, which was free to visit. Zhuang Fanxin said, "You've been in Rong City for so many days but haven't done any sightseeing."

Gu Zhuoyan created an opportunity, "I'm not familiar with this place. Can I ask you to be my tour guide?"

Zhuang Fanxin thought alertly, 'Gu Zhuoyan didn't want to come here at all, so he probably wasn't interested in sightseeing either; he was likely just being polite and going along with him.' "Let's just forget it," he said considerately. "There isn't much to see in Rong City anyway."

Gu Zhuoyan didn't expect to be rejected. After all, his experience with relationships was zero, so for a moment he didn't know what to say. They passed a small shop selling accessories, which was filled with a dazzling array of items. Gu Baoyan ditched them and ran inside.

Gu Zhuoyan stood at the entrance and said, "Call me when you've picked something."

"Brother," Gu Baoyan asked, "can I buy ten hair clips?"

Gu Zhuoyan said, "As long as you carry them yourself." 'Asking for ten hair clips right off the bat, does she have ten heads? He was truly worried. If she was like this at seven or eight, what would she be like when she grew up?'

Next door was a convenience store with two small tables set up outside. Gu Zhuoyan and Zhuang Fanxin bought two bottles of soda and waited while they drank.

His phone kept buzzing. Zhuang Fanxin took it out and saw that, as expected, it was messages from the boys' group chat. It was already afternoon; that group had been battling away since nine in the morning. He didn't know if they had finished their homework, but they had at least voted for the most delicious dessert at the cafe.

Zhuang Fanxin silently made a mental note to avoid any duds, and asked, "Which one tastes bad?"

Qi Nan: "Traitors have no right to ask, ha!"

Zhuang Fanxin: "Then have you guys finished your homework?"

Qi Nan: "A traitor doesn't need to worry about that!"

Having rejected two get-togethers, Zhuang Fanxin truly deserved this fate. Not only did his deskmate not love him anymore, but the others also strongly condemned him. The Class Monitor even sent a thirty-second-long voice message.

He slurped his soda, wanting to make amends. Sneakily glancing at Gu Zhuoyan across the table, he was suddenly struck with an idea.

"My good brothers," Zhuang Fanxin typed, "it's my fault for not actively participating in group activities. As compensation, I can tell you all a secret about our class."

Ti Wei: "Did the Class Monitor embezzle the class funds?"

Class Monitor: "Holy crap, our class is dirt poor, okay?"

The group started arguing again, and someone even said the head teacher was on their second marriage. Zhuang Fanxin waited quietly for a moment, and once everyone had just about finished their clamoring, he sent an emoji wearing sunglasses.

Someone urged, "Spill it, little traitor."

Zhuang Fanxin dropped the bombshell: "After school starts, a transfer student will be joining our class!"

As he pressed send, Zhuang Fanxin glanced at Gu Zhuoyan again, feeling a sense of smugness as if he could predict the future. Just then, Gu Baoyan called for them. He pocketed his phone and drank the last of his soda.

On the way home, Gu Baoyan obediently carried the bag herself. She took out a silver bracelet and gave it to Zhuang Fanxin to thank him for taking her to get her hair permed. Then she took out another identical one and gave it to Gu Zhuoyan to thank him for paying for her.

Strolling slowly back, when they were a few meters from the small intersection, Zhuang Fanxin saw three boys standing under the banyan tree at the corner. The three boys were very conspicuous because they were all looking up, intently admiring the banyan tree's hanging aerial roots.

The more he looked, the more familiar they seemed. Zhuang Fanxin felt like he had seen them somewhere before.

Just then, Gu Zhuoyan saw them too, couldn't help but stop in his tracks, and blurted out—"The fuck?"

One of the boys heard him and looked over. After a few seconds of delayed reaction, he yelled, "Fuck! Bro!" The other two also looked over in unison, screaming—"Ah! My bro!"

The three of them came running wildly, their shouts loud enough to be heard across the street, nearly causing a passing car to rear-end another in fright. When they reached him, the three of them opened their arms and locked Gu Zhuoyan in a bear hug, their arms overlapping and squeezing him tightly.

Zhuang Fanxin stepped aside. He remembered now; these were the three boys from the horse-riding photo: Lian Yiming, Lu Wen, and Su Wang.

Gu Zhuoyan, hugged so tightly he could barely breathe, struggled free and said, "What are you guys doing here?!"

Lu Wen said, "We came to find you! What else, to eat Chaoshan beef hotpot?!"

Lian Yiming picked up Gu Baoyan and asked affectionately, "Did you miss me? Whoa, you even got your hair permed?"

Gu Baoyan held up her bag and said happily, "I also bought hair clips!"

Su Wang glanced over. "What kind of junk is this? Your brother lets you wear this? Let's go to the mall and buy some nice ones." After speaking, he caught sight of the cheap bracelet on Gu Zhuoyan's wrist and immediately wore a pained expression. "Bro, what kind of life are you living?"

The group chattered nonstop. Zhuang Fanxin stood quietly to the side, but he was a living, breathing person after all, so they quickly noticed him. Three pairs of eyes looked over at him in unison.

Lu Wen was the first to speak. "Hey, and this is?"

Gu Zhuoyan said, "This is Zhuang Fanxin, my grandpa's neighbor." He made introductions for them. "These are my childhood friends. You've seen their photo before."

Zhuang Fanxin matched each of them to the photo. Lu Wen had slightly darker skin and was tall, about the same height as Gu Zhuoyan; he was the band's lead singer. Su Wang was very thin and had a pair of dimples on his cheeks. Lian Yiming was dressed in a more mature but still youthful style, like a college student.

He smiled politely, but before he had a chance to say hello, Lu Wen strode forward and slung an arm around his shoulder, speaking as if they were old acquaintances, "Xiao Zhuang? As the saying goes, a close neighbor is better than a distant relative. I can tell from your face you're a good person. You must have taken good care of Zhuoyan."

Su Wang came up to his other side and put an arm around Zhuang Fanxin, saying, "Neighborly friend, on such a hot day, were you guys out having fun?"

Sandwiched between them on his left and right, Zhuang Fanxin didn't quite dare to move. He answered, "We went to get a haircut..."

Gu Zhuoyan shoved Lu Wen and Su Wang away—they were acting like gangsters robbing someone in broad daylight—and partially shielded Zhuang Fanxin. He asked something practical, "Where are you staying tonight?"

Su Wang said, "We booked a hotel. Send your sister home, and you're coming with us."

The group turned into the small side street. Gu Zhuoyan took Gu Baoyan home while the other three waited at the door of Zhuang Fanxin's house. Zhuang Fanxin opened his door and said before going in, "I'm going home now. Have fun, you guys."

Lian Yiming looked Zhuang Fanxin up and down, his gaze lingering for a moment on his sneakers. He said, "Why don't you come out with us?"

Zhuang Fanxin could feel the other guy sizing him up. He wasn't shy around strangers and was usually quite cheerful and enthusiastic, but right now, standing at his own doorstep, he felt a little awkward. He said, "I won't bother you."

"Hey now," Lu Wen laughed. "Why are you being so polite."

Just as he was worrying about how to handle the situation, Gu Zhuoyan came over. Lian Yiming and Lu Wen stopped pestering him, and the group started walking away. As Su Wang passed by Zhuang Fanxin, he dropped a cryptic comment, "You're pretty well-behaved, huh."

Zhuang Fanxin froze. 'What does that mean?'

He went inside and locked the door, hearing drawn-out catcalls from outside—typical jeering from a group of boys.

'What were they jeering about? Why were Gu Zhuoyan's friends so weird?'

The group of weirdos arrived at the hotel. It was a large suite, spacious enough for them to raise hell. As soon as they entered the room and closed the door, Gu Zhuoyan was about to change into slippers when he was ambushed from three sides in a tight hug.

It turned out that being outdoors had hindered their emotional outburst. Only now could they finally let it all out. The three of them hugged Gu Zhuoyan, crying and shouting: "We missed you so much! You were gone for more than twenty days! We were always one short for everything important!"

Gu Zhuoyan struggled free. "I'm not fucking dead!"

The guys weren't really crying. After enough warm-and-fuzzies, Lu Wen turned to order food, Su Wang went into the bathroom for a shower, and Lian Yiming strolled around, squatting to tap on the floorboards, then walking to a corner of the living room to swipe a finger across a surface, as if his occupational hazard was kicking in.

Gu Zhuoyan sat on the sofa. "You haven't even inherited your family's hotels yet, and you're already this professional?"

"You flatter me." Lian Yiming leaned back against a side cabinet, folded his arms, and asked, "How's this past month been? We thought you'd only be gone for a few days. Who would've thought school starts the day after tomorrow, and you're still not fucking coming back."

Gu Zhuoyan said, "Go back to what? The transfer procedures are already done. I've even got my school ID card."

"Fuck! No way!" Lu Wen wailed. "Your dad is too ruthless!"

Lian Yiming pretended to be an expert. "It was Auntie Xue who was more ruthless. Because her conflict with Uncle Gu was reaching a boiling point, which was extremely detrimental to family harmony, Auntie Xue exiled him to this place with its awesome greenery."

Gu Zhuoyan was amused. He laughed and asked, "Did you guys sneak here?"

School started the day after tomorrow. Lu Wen said he was spending the night at Su Wang's house, Su Wang said he was spending the night at Lian Yiming's house, and Lian Yiming said he was spending the night at Lu Wen's house. After meeting up, they took a flight to Rong City. They would fly back tomorrow afternoon. It was more flawless than a Möbius strip.

Just then, Su Wang came out of the shower. With everyone present, the three of them exchanged glances, then moved to pin Gu Zhuoyan down on the sofa. With one on his left, one on his right, and one above his head, it was a three-way interrogation.

Gu Zhuoyan sat there nonchalantly and said, "While you're at it, give my shoulders a massage."

"Fuck, yes, Mr. Gu." He actually started massaging, Lu Wen putting some force into it. "You've been here for a month already, why haven't you resisted? Are you really planning to stay here forever?"

Gu Zhuoyan said, "And how do you propose I resist?"

Lian Yiming repeated his old line, "I told you to jump into the sea, why didn't you? It's pretty convenient here too."

"Screw you," Gu Zhuoyan said. "It's not like I can sever father-son ties with my dad, not to mention I still have to spend his money. Besides, the fundamental conflict isn't about whether I transfer schools or not, or where I am. It's about the fact that my sexual orientation is male."

Su Wang said, "That is pretty difficult."

Since the hope of returning home was truly slim, they wouldn't discuss this topic for now. Next. Lu Wen's shoulder massage intensified. He changed the subject, his tone softening. "That little neighbor with the surname Zhuang... are you two pretty close?"

Gu Zhuoyan said, "After school starts, we'll be classmates."

"Such fate?!" Lian Yiming clicked his tongue twice. "When you asked me to buy the newest sneakers and mail them to you, I was wondering who would wear a pair several sizes smaller. So it was for him."

Su Wang added, "And you even accompanied him for a haircut today. My dad doesn't even accompany my mom to the hairdresser."

The three of them were being sarcastic and passive-aggressive, trying to stir up some juicy, welcome gossip. Gu Zhuoyan, however, played along, not denying anything the entire time and even nodding, enjoying it.

Lu Wen was stunned. "Fuck, you're really getting with him?"

Lian Yiming was a bit scared. "I only knew you were quick about coming out, but I didn't expect you to get a partner with the speed of a thunderclap that leaves no time to cover one's ears. You're not going to have a flash marriage abroad one day, are you?"

"Um," Su Wang asked cautiously, "you're not a... minute man, are you?"

Gu Zhuoyan was done with the level of idiocy of these three. He figured words were useless; it was time for action. He easily broke free from their hold, yanked Lian Yiming onto the sofa from behind, and along with the other two, proceeded to beat them from one end of the sofa to the other.

It wasn't for nothing that he was the captain of the school's fencing club. He hadn't practiced in a while, so he just treated this as a chance to stretch his muscles. In the end, the three of them were wailing nonstop, having all rolled onto the carpet.

Gu Zhuoyan stopped, went to the fridge to get a can of dark beer, and sat in the middle of the sofa, drinking and looking down on them. Although Su Wang was thin, he was the first to scramble back up, saying stubbornly, "Well, you should at least make it clear then!"

Gu Zhuoyan first clarified the most important thing: "I've tested it myself. I'm not a minute man."

As for other things, like how he and Zhuang Fanxin had gotten closer, how Zhuang Fanxin had helped him, what stage their relationship was currently in—he said nothing about any of it.

He just said bluntly, "I want to pursue him."

The three of them held their breath at the same time, and then sighed in relief at the same time. No one knew the huge psychological burden they had been under during this period. Their good brother had suddenly come out of the closet, and while they acted understanding and supportive on the surface, behind his back, they had all suspected that Gu Zhuoyan was interested in them.

Lian Yiming declared his stance, "I support you!"

"Me too!" Lu Wen said. "Even though we're only here for a day..."

Su Wang said, "We'll support you remotely when we get back!"

Gu Zhuoyan gave a cold laugh. 'Relying on these three was equivalent to cutting himself off from love.'

Not that he was thinking about love, either. Seducing Zhuang Fanxin was a way to provoke his parents. He didn't reveal this plan, firstly because he couldn't trust these guys' big mouths, and secondly, he was afraid he'd fail to seduce him and lose face.

After all, being miserably rejected when he invited Zhuang Fanxin to be his tour guide today was quite a blow to his confidence.

Gu Zhuoyan took out his phone. He suddenly wanted to try again, so he sent a message: "My friends want to look around Rong City. Would you be free to accompany us tomorrow?"

To seem more moving, he added a crying emoji, which looked rather sissy.

Soon, Zhuang Fanxin replied, "Okay."

Gu Zhuoyan stared at that single word, not realizing he was smiling like a complete idiot.