After about a week, Gu Zhuoyan's room was completely renewed, even the color scheme had changed. Gu Zhuoyan himself also gradually adapted to this place, no longer randomly picking on Sister Hu's cooking, and became more attentive to the dog, walking it back and forth all day with tissues and plastic bags in his pocket.

After showering and entering his room, Gu Zhuoyan saw Gu Baoyan run in to play. She was stuffing a Barbie doll into his model sports car. He said: "Three seconds, put it back for me."

Gu Baoyan was obedient enough, putting the model sports car back properly, and then went to the computer to play a small game. Gu Zhuoyan sat at the foot of the bed drying his hair, bare-chested, with one leg pressing on the Barbie's dress. Casually looking up, he saw the painting hanging on the wall, a pair of hands, the one Zhuang Fanxin had given him.

The design of this room, this piece of graffiti, and the few pots of fresh flowers in the garden—counting them up, he realized they were all from Zhuang Fanxin. For both emotional and logical reasons, Gu Zhuoyan thought he should thank the other person, especially since he didn't like being indebted to people.

But how should he express his thanks? A verbal thanks wouldn't do; it was superficial and lacked sincerity. Besides, the help Zhuang Fanxin gave was tangible, all real, concrete things.

So he had to do something practical, at least give a gift in return.

To be honest, Gu Zhuoyan rarely gave gifts. Although he had a ton of childhood friends and regular friends, everyone's purchasing power was decent. When they thanked or apologized to each other, they either said it outright or let the other win a round in a game, and everything would be resolved.

He mulled it over. Zhuang Fanxin was studying painting, so how about some art supplies? But he quickly dismissed the idea. For one, he didn't know what was good or bad, and for another, Zhuang Fanxin was least in need of those things.

The keyboard was being clacked loudly. Gu Baoyan turned around for help: "Brother, I keep dying."

Gu Zhuoyan found a T-shirt to put on, went to the desk, lifted Gu Baoyan up, and sat down with her in his lap to start a new round. He stared at the monitor, asking out of desperation, "I want to give Zhuang Fanxin a gift, what would be good?"

Gu Baoyan didn't answer, asking instead, "Can you give me one too while you're at it?"

His long fingers moved over the keyboard. Gu Zhuoyan said, "I'll give you a plane ticket so you can go home." At the mention of going home, he remembered how the kid was on her first night and was a bit puzzled, "How come you haven't been homesick these past few days?"

Gu Baoyan said, "I've come to terms with it."

There wasn't as much discipline here, Xue Maochen took her out to play all day, and there was a pet. Moreover, Gu Baoyan discovered that Gu Zhuoyan hadn't been so cold and aloof recently. Maybe if he was in a good mood tomorrow, he would even agree to let her take apart his models.

'In your dreams,' Gu Zhuoyan thought. When the game entered the next level and he got a gift pack, he remembered that the matter of the gift was still unsettled. He sighed to himself, "What would be a good thing to give?"

Gu Baoyan said, "A guitar. I think Brother Xiao Zhuang quite likes it."

"Forget it." Gu Zhuoyan was still shaken by the memory. Zhuang Fanxin truly had no talent for music. After teaching him to play the guitar that afternoon, he even had a bit of tinnitus when he slept that night.

Gu Baoyan couldn't think of anything. Seeing that he had won a few rounds, she was eager to try playing by herself again. Gu Zhuoyan went back to the bed and flopped down, pressing his face into the pillow and continuing to ponder. A gift should be something the other person likes, right?

Besides painting, what else does Zhuang Fanxin like?

"Brother, I died again!" Gu Baoyan added to the chaos.

Gu Zhuoyan went to the living room to get some peace and quiet. His phone dinged with a new message from his childhood friend, Lian Yiming. The image was of a pair of sneakers, both lightweight and simple in style, which had not yet been officially released.

Gu Zhuoyan couldn't be bothered to reply. What was so great about shoes and hats to be sending pictures? And asking for advice? A couple of big guys acting like little sisters. But on second thought, they were both guys, so Zhuang Fanxin would probably like sneakers too, right?

He might as well just give these shoes, saving himself any further indecision.

But Gu Zhuoyan didn't know Zhuang Fanxin's shoe size. So he typed out a message, "What size shoes do you wear?" but deleted it before sending. Asking like that was way too direct. "You there? Send a picture of your feet." Asking like that seemed a bit too perverted.

Finally, Gu Zhuoyan sent a message asking, "How tall are you?"

Zhuang Fanxin was watching a movie. When he received the message, he pulled his hand out of a bag of chips, picked up his phone, and felt a little bewildered. The first message Gu Zhuoyan had ever initiated with him was actually to ask for his height?

He wasn't very tall, 173. He'd heard that people who were 158 would claim to be 160, and people who were 178 would claim to be 180, so he replied with 175. After replying, he felt a little guilty and added another message: "Why?"

Gu Zhuoyan: "No reason."

Zhuang Fanxin's curiosity grew even stronger: "What's it for?"

Gu Zhuoyan: "Not for anything."

After sending that reply, Gu Zhuoyan contacted Lian Yiming. It was their first call since he came to Rong City. The moment the call connected, without even a single warm word between best friends, he immediately told the guy to buy him shoes.

The size didn't seem right. Lian Yiming asked, "Who are you buying them for?"

Gu Zhuoyan said, "A friend."

"A friend?" Lian Yiming yelled, "I've been fucking waiting every day for news of you jumping into the sea, thinking you'd threaten to kill yourself to come home sooner, and you've actually already made a friend?"

Gu Zhuoyan chuckled, "It's pretty good here. My sister is so happy she's forgotten all about home."

While he was chatting away on the phone, Zhuang Fanxin was still completely confused on his end. He would glance at his phone from time to time, but he didn't receive any other replies from Gu Zhuoyan. Instead, he got a call from his good friend, Pei Zhi.

His friend Pei Zhi had gone to Japan to study for the summer vacation and was finally returning the day after tomorrow. Zhuang Fanxin checked online and found that a recently held art exhibition was ending in three days, so they could just make it.

Probably due to his family environment, the places Zhuang Fanxin had frequented most since he was young were all sorts of art museums; he simply never got tired of them. Two days later, he went out under the scorching sun and ran into Gu Zhuoyan walking his dog at the main gate.

There was a high-temperature warning today. Zhuang Fanxin reminded him, "Be careful of heatstroke."

Gu Zhuoyan said, "Then why are you still going out?"

"I'm going to an art exhibition." Zhuang Fanxin put on his baseball cap. "If I don't go, I'll miss it. I'll just consider it a sacrifice for art."

Gu Zhuoyan asked, seemingly unintentionally, "What time will your sacrifice be over?"

Zhuang Fanxin thought for a moment, "Around noon, I guess. Bye!"

Gu Zhuoyan lingered with the dog in the shade of a tree. He waited until Zhuang Fanxin's figure disappeared at the end of the small road before he slowly sauntered over. He waited at the intersection for a few minutes, signed for a delivery, and carried the pair of shoes home.

It was indeed quite hot; just moving a little would leave one drenched in sweat.

Zhuang Fanxin got out of the car outside the art museum. The crowd outside wasn't very dense; after all, there were relatively few fools willing to sacrifice themselves for art. He stood waiting in a conspicuous spot. The air was stuffy and scorching, and the sun burned his skin pinkish-red. It wasn't until he was drenched in sweat and completely wilted that Pei Zhi finally appeared on the opposite side of the road.

A full half-hour late. Zhuang Fanxin's throat felt like it was smoking as he yelled, "Hurry up and run!"

Pei Zhi arrived, panting heavily, "Sorry, sorry... there was a rear-end collision... the whole street was blocked... I took the subway halfway here..."

The two of them looked as if they had just finished a sauna session, their faces flushed in shades of purple and red. After having their tickets checked and entering the museum, the cold air made their pores contract. Zhuang Fanxin sniffled and asked, "How was your time in Japan?"

Pei Zhi said, "Classes every day. Didn't you experience it last year?" The two of them had different specializations; Pei Zhi liked fashion design, while Zhuang Fanxin liked jewelry design, but they still got along well.

Zhuang Fanxin asked, "Did you go to the Mitaka Art Museum?"

"I went. I posted it on the blog, you definitely didn't see it."

Zhuang Fanxin indeed hadn't seen it. It was a niche blog from overseas where many designers registered to post articles. He had posted some photos in the beginning, but over time, he got too lazy to log in.

He was thinking about something else at the moment: "Did you bring me a gift?"

Pei Zhi took a bag out of his backpack. It wasn't too heavy. The gift box inside was exquisitely wrapped. It was a set of Japanese yukata. Zhuang Fanxin liked it a lot. After accepting it, he slung an arm around Pei Zhi's shoulders and decided to treat him to lunch.

The art museum was huge. They wandered around slowly until noon before leaving. They found a nearby restaurant to eat. While waiting for their food, Pei Zhi looked at a magazine in the restaurant, and Zhuang Fanxin fiddled with his gift.

His phone screen lit up. Zhuang Fanxin glanced at it distractedly. It was from Gu Zhuoyan: "Not back yet?"

He replied, "Nope, I'll go back after I finish eating."

Zhuang Fanxin was a little suspicious. When they met in the morning, Gu Zhuoyan had asked him when he was coming home, and now he was asking again. Could it be that he needed his help with something? But there was no movement after his reply, so he couldn't help but ask, "Do you need me for something?"

Gu Zhuoyan: "No."

Geez, why send a message if there's nothing? He was being all mysterious asking about his height the other day, and today he's pulling the same trick again. Zhuang Fanxin couldn't control his curiosity and pressed, "What is it exactly?"

Gu Zhuoyan didn't reply to him again. Instead, Pei Zhi nudged his arm, telling him to look at a certain page in the magazine. He looked over and saw a pair of very nicely designed sneakers, with a note indicating they hadn't been officially released yet.

"Do you think they look good?"

"They look good."

"When are they coming out? I want to buy them."

"For over six thousand, I'd rather buy art supplies."

The two of them discussed it for a bit like little sisters. The food arrived, so they put down the magazine and started eating. Zhuang Fanxin sounded rational with his words, but his eyes secretly drifted towards the magazine, and he even couldn't help but decide to save up his allowance.

Knowing his habits, he wouldn't be able to save up. It would be great if Zhuang Xianyang bought him a pair.

Zhuang Fanxin and Pei Zhi ate less than a third of the meal for two, probably because the heat had killed their appetites. In the afternoon, they had no energy to wander around anymore. Taking advantage of the fact that the signs of heatstroke weren't too obvious yet, they parted ways briskly at a street intersection.

Zhuang Fanxin took a taxi home. When he got out at the small intersection, he felt slightly dizzy. He walked inward carrying his gift and saw the German Shepherd squatting outside his family's main gate from a distance.

He walked over in confusion and found the leash tied to the gate. He untied it, and the German Shepherd immediately ran back, stopping every few steps to eat a piece of jerky off the ground.

The dog was led by the jerky, and Zhuang Fanxin was led by the dog, all the way from his own gate to the Xue Family's gate. The main gate was ajar. He led the dog inside and found the dog's owner watching TV in the first-floor living room.

Zhuang Fanxin asked the mysterious man, "What's the situation?"

Gu Zhuoyan said, "Waiting for you." He wasn't sure what time Zhuang Fanxin would be home, so he tied the German Shepherd there to get some air, which naturally led the person over.

Zhuang Fanxin grew even more curious. He plopped down beside him, beads of sweat on his temples, and stared at him. Gu Zhuoyan no longer tried to hide it. He glanced down at Zhuang Fanxin's feet, feeling a little more certain.

He handed the bag on the coffee table to Zhuang Fanxin and said directly, "This is for you."

Zhuang Fanxin was clearly taken aback. "For me? Why?"

Gu Zhuoyan was concise: "Thanks for your help."

"Ah, a close neighbor is better than a distant relative..." Zhuang Fanxin hadn't expected Gu Zhuoyan to be so polite. When he opened the box and looked inside, he was even more surprised to see the sneakers he had taken a fancy to in the magazine an hour ago.

He looked at the shoes, then at Gu Zhuoyan, then at Gu Zhuoyan, then back at the shoes.

Gu Zhuoyan was baffled by his expression. He really lacked experience in giving gifts and couldn't help but suspect that he had chosen a bad gift. But it was already bought anyway, so he said, "Just make do and wear them."

Zhuang Fanxin felt a complex mix of emotions. The few pots of flowers were just moved from the garden; designing the room was also at Xue Maochen's request, and a piece of graffiti was even more worthless. But these shoes cost over six thousand. He said in a small voice, "This is very valuable."

Gu Zhuoyan inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief. He could tell that Zhuang Fanxin was quite satisfied with the gift, so it wasn't a failure.

Zhuang Fanxin did indeed like them. He glanced at the shoe size—it was a perfect fit. He instantly understood why Gu Zhuoyan had asked for his height. He suddenly felt shy, "Actually, I added two centimeters."

"I guessed as much," Gu Zhuoyan said. "You look one-seventy-three at most."

"..." Zhuang Fanxin licked his dry lips, thinking, 'You're a real smooth talker.' He held the gift and said his goodbyes. As he stood up, he swayed and then plopped back down onto the sofa with a thud.

Just then, his phone received a text from Pei Zhi: I think I have heatstroke.

Zhuang Fanxin flopped onto the sofa and laughed foolishly, "Haha, it's really so hot today. My friend even got heatstroke."

Gu Zhuoyan looked at his flushed cheeks, his mouth twitching. "What are you laughing at? I think you have it too."