On Saturday morning, Yue Zhishi woke up unusually early and helped Lin Rong make breakfast. The symptoms from catching a cold the day before hadn't completely faded. After drinking his milk, Yue Zhishi coughed for a bit, and at Lin Rong's urging, he took a cold pill. A short while later, Song Yu also came downstairs, ate a few shumai, and left. Hearing the door close, Yue Zhishi immediately left the kitchen.

"Auntie Rong, I'm leaving too."

Lin Rong hurriedly came out. "Aren't you going to eat a little more? Or are you guys going out for a big meal at noon?" She saw Yue Zhishi putting on a drab black hooded jacket and a face mask. "Sweetie, are you going to a birthday party or to crash one?"

"No time to talk, I'm going to be late." Yue Zhishi got his gear ready and quickly left.

The breakfast culture was deeply ingrained. The liveliest time in this city was the early morning. No matter the street, you could see breakfast stalls of all sizes and an endless stream of customers who loved to eat breakfast out.

The small shops didn't have much extra space, so naturally there weren't many rules. People casually stood by the street with a bowl of noodles, eating and chatting. Those in a hurry to get to work or school could even carry a bowl of hot dry noodles or doupi, eating as they walked, finishing it before getting on the bus or subway. These were all unique survival skills.

After passing through an entire street full of life and bustle, Yue Zhishi finally saw Song Yu at the traffic light on the corner.

Probably because of the speech, he wore a rather formal black shirt, tucked into his long pants, with the cuffs rolled halfway up his forearms. With his long legs and narrow waist, he was particularly conspicuous in the crowd.

Yue Zhishi never wanted to go to any classmate's birthday party in the first place, and now that he knew Song Yu had a speech, it was even more impossible for him to go. But Song Yu had flatly refused his parents' attempt to accompany him, so it was even less likely Yue Zhishi would be allowed to.

So Yue Zhishi could only resort to this poor plan: secretly follow him. Anyway, there should be a lot of people at the venue, so if he hid among them, Song Yu wouldn't notice him.

The green light came on, and the two maintained a distance of ten meters, one after the other, as they entered the subway station. He had been worried that Song Yu would call a car. Luckily, it was public transport, otherwise he would have had to say to his driver like a stalker in a movie, 'Follow that car in front'.

Squeezing into the adjacent car at the last second, Yue Zhishi hid behind an old man to sneak a peek at Song Yu. The old man followed his gaze, looked forward, then turned back to look at him suspiciously.

Yue Zhishi pulled his hood and shifted half a step. His cover changed from the old man to a commuter scrolling on his phone.

The interior of the Line 2 subway car was all girly pink. Even the poles were pink. Song Yu, dressed all in black, looked strangely out of place standing there, as if he had a natural barrier that isolated him from everything. Yue Zhishi was so busy watching that he didn't realize he was also standing there dressed all in black.

They were like two jarring little black dots in a pink bubble.

The bubble burst, and the two little black dots slipped out. The big one in front, the small one hiding behind the crowd. The station they got off at had many exits and many people. While going up the stairs, there was a young mother in front of Yue Zhishi, carrying a large backpack, holding a huge suitcase, and also holding the hand of a three or four-year-old child. She had to stop several times, unable to move.

"Ah, really... excuse me, please let me pass." A white-collar worker behind them who was in a hurry to get to work muttered a couple of complaints and squeezed past the mother to get ahead.

"I'm sorry," the young woman held her child tighter and stepped aside. "You all go first."

Yue Zhishi was originally far behind. He followed the people in a hurry to leave, quickly moving forward, but in the end, he stopped in front of the young mother. "Let me help you." He directly helped lift the suitcase and walked beside her. The young mother kept saying thank you, and the child was also very cute, looking up with his small face and saying thank you to him.

The stairs were very long. After reaching the top, Yue Zhishi put the suitcase down. When he looked ahead again, he could no longer see any sign of Song Yu.

'Crap, I forgot about the tracking.'

Figures hurried past in his field of vision, a scene of chaos. Yue Zhishi craned his neck, looking all around, but he couldn't find Song Yu's figure anywhere. He tried walking forward a bit more, going around in circles. Unconsciously, Yue Zhishi arrived in front of a chain milk tea shop near the exit. Next to it was a lost-and-found counter, but there were no lost items and no staff.

He still lost him.

Watching the speech was definitely out of the question now.

Yue Zhishi tried hard to give himself a mental pep talk, trying not to be too disappointed. Sweets make you feel better, so he decided to buy a cup of milk tea, then go home, treating this trip as just an early morning stroll.

"Hello, what would you like to drink?"

"Um..." Yue Zhishi looked down at the menu. "Half-sugar green milk tea with pearls and coconut jelly."

After ordering, he subconsciously reached into his pants pocket, only to find it completely empty.

'I think I left my phone on the sofa.'

Seeing that the staff member had already started preparing the drink, Yue Zhishi frantically searched all his pockets, hoping that maybe he had accidentally left some money in them the last time he wore these clothes.

But no matter how he searched, he found nothing. He wished a big hand would appear behind him right now, pick him up, and shake him hard; shaking anything out would be good.

The staff member pushed the milk tea over with both hands. "Hello, here's your milk tea."

"Ah, thank you." Yue Zhishi didn't know whether to extend his hand or not; it froze in mid-air.

A smile appeared on the staff member's face. "Will you be paying with cash, Alipay, or WeChat Pay?"

Yue Zhishi's ears turned red. He looked as if he was thinking seriously, but in reality, his mind was filled with the feasibility of going back to get money and returning to pay. "Um..."

"WeChat."

A familiar voice came from behind him.

He whipped his head around and saw Song Yu with a cold expression, scanning the QR code with his phone. After scanning, he picked up the milk tea, poked the straw in, brought it to his lips, and took a big sip, then turned and walked away, as if Yue Zhishi didn't exist at all.

"Hey..." Yue Zhishi turned and followed him. "My milk tea..."

Song Yu frowned, paused, and looked at the milk tea cup, as if a little disgusted. "It's so sweet."

'Half-sugar is still sweet?' Yue Zhishi didn't say anything. He saw Song Yu extend his hand and hand over the milk tea. Yue Zhishi immediately took it with both hands and followed closely beside him. "How did you end up here?"

Song Yu pointed to the counter next to the milk tea shop behind him. "Lost and found."

Yue Zhishi glanced back, then quickly turned his head again. Seeing Song Yu raise an eyebrow, he turned the tables. "Why were you following me?"

"I..." Yue Zhishi was momentarily stuck, but he was too straightforward to hide it. "I just wanted to come see. I won't bother you. I'll go home by myself after I'm done watching. You didn't let Uncle and Auntie come, so you definitely wouldn't have let me come either. That's why I was forced to choose to follow you secretly." After he finished, his voice grew softer. "And you didn't even tell me."

The two of them walked out of the station side by side. The light suddenly shone on them, very bright. Song Yu squinted. "Tell you what?"

"About your speech for the City's Three-Good Student election." Yue Zhishi took a sip of his milk tea. "I almost didn't even know."

Song Yu said lightly, "People who have plans are not on my notification list."

Yue Zhishi felt that there was a hidden meaning in Song Yu's words, but his first reaction was to deny it. "I don't have plans!" He was a little angry as he spoke, rushing straight ahead. "I didn't agree to go. Brother Song Yu, you always misunderstand me, last time at the school infirmary too..."

A bicycle sped past, close to the curb. With quick eyes and hands, Song Yu grabbed his arm and pulled him closer, narrowly avoiding it.

"I know." Song Yu released his arm. "Watch where you're going, little social butterfly."

'He's being sarcastic, he must be.'

Just as Yue Zhishi gathered enough anger to explode, he heard Song Yu say.

"Next time you follow me secretly, remember to bring your phone."

Song Yu gazed at the traffic light in the distance and stepped forward after the light changed. "If you get lost again, I won't come looking for you."

Hearing the word "again," Yue Zhishi's anger couldn't hold and all deflated.

When he was five, he went to the park with Song Yu. He wanted to eat ice cream, so Song Yu took him to buy some. At that time, someone selling hydrogen balloons passed by, holding a large bunch of beautiful balloons. Yue Zhishi's attention was caught by a small fish-shaped balloon, and he followed behind the person and walked away. When Song Yu finished paying and turned around, he couldn't find a trace of him anywhere.

If Song Yu hadn't found a staff member later and used the loudspeaker to call Yue Zhishi's name, it's uncertain if he would have been found.

That experience left Yue Zhishi with a fear of being lost and left alone, but he didn't actually know what kind of memory it left for Song Yu.

He only remembered that when the park staff led him by the hand to meet his brother, the tears on Song Yu's face hadn't completely dried.

That was the first and last time he ever saw Song Yu cry.

The venue was the city's Youth Association auditorium. Staff members sat at the entrance for registration, and everyone lined up to enter. In front of Yue Zhishi stood a pair of parents with their daughter.

"Family relationship, yes, we're her dad and mom."

The previous group left. The staff member looked up at the two of them, especially glancing a few extra times at Yue Zhishi's face.

Song Yu showed his ID. The staff member nodded and pointed at Yue Zhishi to ask his identity. "This is your...?"

"Family," Song Yu said.

Yue Zhishi thought of the parents just now. They were real family, while he wasn't. But there didn't seem to be any other suitable description. If he said "younger brother," a more narrow definition, it would be even more incorrect.

A hint of confusion appeared on the staff member's face at first, but they still nodded and gave Yue Zhishi an observer's pass. "Go inside and sit according to the volunteer's arrangements."

"Thank you."

Yue Zhishi sat in the back row. Most of the people around him were parents. His presence seemed particularly out of place.

After Song Yu settled him in, he prepared to leave the audience seats for the preparatory seating area. Yue Zhishi noticed two people appear behind him, both very good-looking. Especially the one on the left, who revealed small canine teeth when he smiled, was very sunny, and handsome in a completely different way from Song Yu.

That person quietly walked up to Song Yu's side and bumped his shoulder with his own. "Long time no see!"

Song Yu turned back, his expression unchanged. "Xia Zhixu." Then he looked back again, his gaze landing on the refined and fair-skinned boy next to Xia Zhixu. He nodded, and the other person did the same.

'What a quiet way to greet someone.'

"You and Xu Qichen both came. Jingjian High School can send two candidates from one class?" Song Yu asked.

"You can't just throw that accusation around. Qichen and I were split into different classes in our second year. He's in liberal arts, I'm in science. If what you said got out, people would think we Jingjian students get in through connections." Xia Zhixu said, intimately putting an arm around Xu Qichen. "But we were still in our first year during the last inter-school basketball tournament, so it's normal you didn't know about the class assignments." After speaking, he still had a smile on his face as his gaze shifted to Yue Zhishi.

Yue Zhishi felt this gaze on him, stood up, and said, "Hello, seniors."

"This is..." Xia Zhixu looked at Song Yu, waiting for an answer.

Before Song Yu could speak, Yue Zhishi copied what he had heard earlier. "I'm his family member."

After saying this, he glanced up at Song Yu but couldn't read anything from his expression.

"Family member?" Xia Zhixu seemed to have had his funny bone tickled. He only managed to hold back his laughter after Xu Qichen nudged him with his arm. "Sorry, my mind went to the wrong place for a second. It's mainly because you two don't really look alike. This little brother must be mixed-race, right? So fair, and his eyes are so pretty."

He said, looking at Song Yu, and asked tentatively, "Cousin? Don't tell me he's the neighbor's kid."

"I live at his house." Yue Zhishi answered first, but his thoughts were still stuck on the part he didn't understand. He asked quite bluntly, "What wrong idea did you have?"

Song Yu glanced at him, and only then did Yue Zhishi add, "Senior."

"Uh... well," Xia Zhixu seemed to be trying to change the subject. He glanced at Song Yu and then turned to Xu Qichen. "I wish I had such a cute younger brother. I've always wanted a younger brother."

Yue Zhishi said he wasn't his brother, but unexpectedly, no one responded. The previously silent Xu Qichen said to Xia Zhixu, "Me too."

It seemed the topic of "younger brother" was unavoidable, and Yue Zhishi didn't want to explain anymore.

Xu Qichen looked at him, a faint smile on his handsome face. "You haven't told us your name yet."

Yue Zhishi felt that this older brother's eyes were misty, like a tragic character from a manga. He searched his mind for a few seconds and felt that the word "melancholy" was more fitting.

Seeing that Yue Zhishi didn't answer right away, Xu Qichen said his own name again and extended a hand to him. This was very formal to Yue Zhishi. After all, not many third-year high school seniors would introduce themselves so formally to a junior high student.

He immediately shook his hand and confessed honestly, "I was distracted just now, I'm sorry," as well as answering his question, "My name is Yue Zhishi."

Xu Qichen softly repeated it, the smile in his eyes deepening. "A good rain knows its season."

"I like that poem too, but I wasn't born when it was raining," Yue Zhishi said.

Song Yu glanced at him.

'He wasn't born when it was raining, but he came when it was raining.'

Xia Zhixu cut in, "You really can't kick this habit of analyzing names. If you ask me," he pointed at Yue Zhishi, "you two are 'the stones from another mountain'," then pointed at Song Yu, "'can be used to polish jade'!"

Yue Zhishi's eyes widened, as if he had learned something incredible, and he became exceptionally happy because of it.

"What nonsense." Song Yu used the imminent start of the speech to fend off Xia Zhixu's further teasing. The three of them prepared to leave, leaving only Yue Zhishi, who was still savoring the thought.

"You sit here. Don't run around," Song Yu said before leaving.

Yue Zhishi watched the three of them walk towards the candidate seating area. The backs of Xia Zhixu and Xu Qichen were very close, their arms brushing against each other, like the twin popsicles he used to eat as a child, which had to be broken apart before eating.

Looking again at Song Yu, he was the lone, single popsicle left after being broken apart.

The election speech wasn't as intense as he had imagined. Everyone just took turns going on stage to say what they had prepared. The City's Three-Good Students were all outstanding, and Xia Zhixu and Xu Qichen were too. One of them spoke with a naturally popular and sunny aura, while the other was slow and methodical, making people want to keep listening.

But in Yue Zhishi's eyes, the moment Song Yu stood up there, he was different from the others. He couldn't say where the difference was; he just felt that even the light on the stage naturally gathered on his shoulders.

The review panel below the stage didn't offer much advice. Only after the last person finished did they announce that the results would be notified within two weeks.

The whole process still took the entire morning. Yue Zhishi's legs were a little numb from sitting, and his throat was also uncomfortable; he kept suppressing his coughs.

It was almost 11:30 AM. The audience dispersed. Song Yu walked back from the front row, together with the two boys from the other school.

Suddenly, it started to rain heavily outside. None of the four had an umbrella. They couldn't stay in the auditorium. Xia Zhixu suggested going to the Japanese restaurant across the street to eat. Maybe the rain would stop after they finished eating.

"We'll run over first!" Xia Zhixu took off his own jacket and naturally draped it over Xu Qichen's head. His hand on his shoulder, he pulled him close and dashed into the rain.

Watching this process, Yue Zhishi fell into a strange contemplation. After a moment, he unzipped his own hooded jacket, took it off, and gave it to Song Yu.

Song Yu frowned, seeming not to understand his action. "What are you doing?"

"Same as them." Yue Zhishi looked at him, his tone innocent. His expression seemed to be telling him, 'I have a jacket too, I can shelter you from the rain.'

"We're not the same as them." Song Yu stood under the eaves, not reaching out his hand.

"Why?" A childlike innocence showed in Yue Zhishi's big eyes as he tried to find the reason for Song Yu's rejection. "Is it because they're friends, and we're brothers?"

Song Yu took the jacket, grabbed his arm to put it on him, and even put the hood up for him. His right hand slid down from the top of Yue Zhishi's head. The back of his hand rested on his forehead for two seconds.

"They're not friends, and we're not brothers."

The author has something to say:

Xia Zhixu and Xu Qichen are the main characters from my first novel. No need to read the previous work, they are just making a cameo and serving as important wingmen. Their screen time is not much and is quite scattered. (By the way, at this time, the two of them are still in their passionate (mutual pining) romance period)