Last Night

Yue Zhishi's body tensed up involuntarily.

'So this is how nervous it feels to let someone use your lap as a pillow.' He couldn't help but think back to his childhood, when he seemed to often rest his head on Song Yu's lap and sleep especially soundly.

Now that their roles were reversed, Yue Zhishi had a magical experience, but also felt a subtle sense of burden. He didn't dare move at all, afraid that Song Yu would feel uncomfortable and not sleep well.

He lowered his head and saw Song Yu's hand resting lightly on his knee. The fingers were long with distinct knuckles—the most beautiful hands Yue Zhishi had ever seen.

Most importantly, he was still wearing that old watch.

Yue Zhishi couldn't help but feel a little regretful. If he had known Song Yu would wear it all the time, he should have saved up a bit more back then and bought his brother a better, more expensive watch.

The car drove smoothly, but it was rush hour and noisy outside. Yue Zhishi mimicked the way Song Yu used to coax him to sleep, gently covering the side of Song Yu's face with his hand as he looked out the window.

The clouds enveloping the sunset had turned a soft, pinkish-orange.

The sky was a bowl of clear white fungus sweet soup, with a large piece of grapefruit-flavored cotton candy floating on top.

Song Yu woke up just as they were about to arrive home. He took off his hat, quickly straightened his hair, put it back on, and rolled his neck. He had woken up so conveniently that Yue Zhishi suspected he hadn't been asleep at all.

“Did you sleep well?”

Yue Zhishi's eager inquiry was like an app asking for a user review right after being downloaded.

Song Yu only looked out the window, not at him.

“It was okay.”

There was no discernible tone in his voice, but Yue Zhishi was already very happy, even though his leg was a bit numb.

The family sat together for a rare reunion dinner to celebrate Yue Zhishi getting through the major hurdle of the college entrance exams. Song Jin couldn't help but have a little to drink. As they ate, he started talking about Yue Zhishi's father, his face flushing red, and he almost started to cry. Fortunately, with Yue Zhishi and Lin Rong coaxing him from both sides, he didn't actually shed any tears.

“Le Yi would laugh his head off if he saw you like this.” Lin Rong sat back down in her seat and ladled a bowl of soup for Song Jin. “How old are you now?”

Song Jin let out a long sigh. “I've been talking to Le Yi in my office every day these past few days, asking him to bless Lele and make sure nothing goes wrong, that everything goes smoothly.”

He always kept a photo of them from high school on his office desk.

Hearing this, Song Yu asked with a deadpan expression, “Did he answer you?”

Yue Zhishi couldn't contain his amusement and laughed, leaning onto Song Yu's shoulder. “If he had, it'd be a horror movie.”

“But you were so lucky this time. The exams went smoothly and it didn't even rain.” Lin Rong couldn't help but sigh with emotion. “If Le Yi and Olivia knew, they would be very happy too. Oh, right.” As if suddenly remembering something, Lin Rong stood up and left, returning with a photo frame. Inside was a solo picture of Yue Zhishi being interviewed during the last school anniversary.

“Look, how handsome our Lele is. We have to preserve a highlight moment like this.”

Yue Zhishi took a large bite of steamed pork ribs with rice flour and said indistinctly, “That's not really a highlight. I was just stopped for an interview.”

“That's because you're good-looking. Why else would they stop you and not someone else?” Lin Rong handed the frame to Song Yu to pass to Yue Zhishi, remembering that she had sent him a WeChat message on the day of the anniversary. “Did you see the school anniversary photos I sent you? And your brother's interview video.”

At the mention of this, Song Yu's expression clearly soured. “I saw them.”

“Your tone is so perfunctory. Are you not only mocking a mother's love now, but also starting to be cruel to your brother?”

Song Yu was speechless and shoved the photo album into Yue Zhishi's hands.

Lin Rong picked up a piece of Ciba fish for Yue Zhishi. “Speaking of that interview video, it was quite a coincidence. Shen Mi was interviewed with you too. That kid is pretty funny.”

“Mm.” Yue Zhishi was focused on eating his fish and didn't really respond to Lin Rong. Song Yu, on the other hand, frowned at Lin Rong. “Who is Shen Mi?”

“See, I told you you didn't watch the video.” Lin Rong shook her head as if she had caught him red-handed, and explained, “Shen Mi is that tall boy who showed up later. Lele's classmate after the class reshuffle, I think. That kid is really funny. One time it was raining and Lele left his phone on the bus, and he ran all the way to our house to return it. He's a good kid.”

Song Yu found it baffling and turned to ask Yue Zhishi, “You even managed to lose your phone?”

Yue Zhishi looked up, a bit dazed. “I... I don't know either. I was wearing thick clothes for winter, it must have fallen out of my pocket.”

Song Jin also seemed to remember. “Ah, that kid. Didn't he also go to Yanghe Qizhe to help out later?”

“Yes.” Lin Rong took a sip of mango pomelo sago. “That's Shen Mi. He was just passing by and helped me move a lot of things. That kid is a smooth talker and has a great personality. I invited him to stay for dinner, and he even gave me flowers.”

Yue Zhishi wasn't paying much attention to their conversation, just quietly finishing his mango pomelo sago. He turned his head and noticed that Song Yu's bowl was untouched. “Brother, why aren't you drinking yours?”

Song Yu was silent for two seconds before he lowered his head and started on the dessert.

After dinner, Yue Zhishi and Lin Rong went downstairs to walk the dog and aid their digestion. When they returned, they saw Song Jin watching a ball game alone in the living room.

“Where's your son?”

“He's been upstairs the whole time, hasn't come down.” Song Jin didn't even turn his eyes.

“Probably fell asleep again.” Lin Rong had a few mosquito bites and was applying ointment. She then pulled Yue Zhishi over to check him. “Good, they didn't bite you. Sweetheart, go see if Orange has eaten. He hasn't been eating well lately, I hope he's not sick.”

Yue Zhishi nodded. He wandered around the first floor a few times but saw no sign of Orange. As soon as he went upstairs, he spotted Orange in front of Song Yu's door, pawing at it a couple of times, seemingly about to stand up and push on it.

“Found you.”

The door was ajar. As soon as Orange pounced, it opened a small crack, and he seized the opportunity to slip in. Yue Zhishi was a step too late to catch him and had to go in to get him.

Reaching the doorway, he saw Orange jump onto the bed. Yue Zhishi stood outside the door and softly called Song Yu's name. There was no response. He walked in and found Song Yu sleeping on the bed.

The lights in the room were off, and it was very dark. Yue Zhishi slipped off his slippers and went in barefoot, intending to grab Orange and leave. But the cat was too cunning and burrowed directly into Song Yu's arms. Song Yu was wearing headphones and seemed truly exhausted, sleeping very soundly.

“Come with me to eat.” Yue Zhishi held a cat teaser wand and tried to coax him in a low voice, wanting to lead him away. But Orange just purred and turned his back.

Yue Zhishi sighed and stood by the bed, watching Song Yu's sleeping face for a few seconds. Moonlight slipped through a gap in the curtains and fell on Song Yu's face, softening his sharp features.

He felt he couldn't just stand there in a daze, so he bent down, trying to lift Orange out of Song Yu's arms. But being an orange cat, Yue Zhishi, who hadn't held him in a long time, misjudged his weight. Not only did he fail to lift him out, but his foot also slipped on the floor, and he tumbled onto Song Yu's bed.

Seeing Song Yu frown and open his eyes, Yue Zhishi gave him an awkward yet flustered smile. “Um... I was actually trying to get Orange, I accidentally...”

“Accidentally delivered yourself to my bed.” Song Yu's voice was deep, his arm resting over his eyes.

Although it sounded strange, it was indeed what had happened.

Yue Zhishi had intended to get up, and he should have, but seeing that Song Yu wasn't angry, he felt a little tempted to linger on the bed. So he crawled forward a bit. “If you sleep now, won't you be unable to sleep tonight?”

Song Yu's eyes were covered, so Yue Zhishi couldn't see them and could only stare at his lips. The corners of his mouth were flat, his lips slightly parted. After a few seconds, he spoke, his voice tinged with lingering sleepiness. “Doesn't matter.”

“No way, messing up your body clock is really bad for you.” Yue Zhishi reached out, grabbed the arm Song Yu had placed over his eyes, and pulled it away. He then began to knead his palm intermittently, but his voice was still very soft, not daring to be loud. “You've already slept for two hours. If you sleep more, you won't be able to sleep tonight.”

The end of his sentence had a wheedling tone. Song Yu didn't open his eyes, simply saying, “So your mission has changed from taking Orange away to taking me away.”

Yue Zhishi smiled. “Essentially, they're about the same.”

Both are about coaxing a cat.

Song Yu turned his head to look at Yue Zhishi, his voice lazy and his speech slow. “So you woke me up. What are you planning to do?”

His words were somewhat ambiguous, but Yue Zhishi didn't catch the undertone and crawled right up to Song Yu, closing the distance between them in an instant.

This time, it was Song Yu who wanted to retreat.

“Can you go somewhere with me?” Yue Zhishi blinked, his hand still holding Song Yu's tightly.

It must have been because he wasn't fully awake that Song Yu agreed to Yue Zhishi's request in such a daze. He was clearly very tired and hated being woken up, but when it was Yue Zhishi, he lost all his temper.

And his tolerance for Yue Zhishi was not limited to just this.

At 9:30 PM, the two stood on the street directly opposite the main gate of Peiya School, with cars coming and going in front of them. Song Yu tugged at his school uniform jacket, which used to be too big but now fit just right, and asked Yue Zhishi in complete confusion, “Why not come tomorrow? You can openly return to school to clear out your books then.”

“But you can't get in. I just said, I want to come with you.” Yue Zhishi's eyes were fixed on the gate. He saw that many Junior High Division students were already coming out from their evening self-study sessions. The crowd was growing, spreading from the school gate to the nearby streets. Seizing the opportunity, Yue Zhishi grabbed Song Yu and ran towards the school.

“We'll just pretend to be junior high students who forgot something. Don't talk, and don't look at the security guard.”

Song Yu let himself be pulled along, like a small fish-shaped hydrogen balloon with no free will.

Although the two of them were very conspicuous in the crowd, the security guard didn't stop them because they were indeed wearing the school's uniform. After successfully sneaking into the school, Yue Zhishi was extremely excited. He turned to Song Yu and said, “It's been a long time since you've been back, right? Do you feel like you've returned to high school?”

Song Yu was as calm as ever. He just took off his jacket, revealing the white T-shirt underneath. “This is your wish after the college entrance exams?”

“This is one of them.” Yue Zhishi's tone was still insatiably greedy. He ran down the stairs, his hair lifted by the summer night's wind, his school jacket billowing like a free bird.

Watching his back, Song Yu's heart also grew a little lighter.

Having not returned to Peiya School for so long, Song Yu thought he would find it unfamiliar. But the school looked the same, with no major changes, except that the old school building that was supposed to be demolished had now become a new laboratory building. The kittens that once lived there were now scattered among countless homes.

Even though he had been gone for three years, in a daze, Song Yu felt as if he had been here just yesterday, living a busy yet simple middle school life, pretending to be a stranger with no connection to Yue Zhishi.

“There's no one here, let's go in.”

Going against the tide of students leaving school, they arrived at the playground. Peiya School's playground was enclosed by a chain-link fence, and the main gate was already locked. But everyone knew that in the corner of the sports field near the Yifu Building, there was a side gate. The lock there had been broken for a long time and was only latched.

“Did you not know about this gate?”

“I knew.” Song Yu would sometimes come here with Qin Yan to play ball at noon, and they could only enter through the side gate.

He followed Yue Zhishi inside. They were like two fish that had slipped through the net, escaping from a large net only to enter a smaller one. Song Yu, habitually planning ahead, asked, “Aren't you afraid someone will come and catch you?”

“Probably not.” Yue Zhishi always liked to count on his luck. “The third-year teachers and students aren't here today, so there must be fewer people on duty than usual. If we get caught, we'll just run. With our long legs, we can't possibly be outrun by someone with short legs.”

He could always justify himself.

The chirping of cicadas stirred the stuffy summer night. Occasionally, a breeze would pass through the poplar forest, drift onto the playground, and clear the sticky June air. Yue Zhishi walked close to Song Yu on the basketball court, marked with a three-point line, his head lowered, watching their long, intersecting shadows. The deep blackness merged on the ground, touching and then quickly separating.

More intimate than their real selves.

A peculiar emotion, indescribable and inexplicable, welled up in his heart.

“Before, I really wanted to graduate quickly, to leave this place as soon as possible.” Yue Zhishi looked at the small woods next to the playground. “Before the exams, I would memorize my books on the stone benches in there every day. I'd get a whole arm full of mosquito bites, have to go back and take allergy medicine, and then continue memorizing.”

He let out a long sigh. “I never thought it would be over so soon. My high school life is really over. It's gone forever. Today is the last day.”

Seeing him like this, Song Yu felt a little like laughing. He stopped where he was, standing in the very center of the basketball court, and turned to look at him. “So you came all the way here just to kill time?”

“This isn't called killing time...” Yue Zhishi wanted to argue at first, but there was nothing to argue. He simply admitted it. “Yes. That's right. Before tonight, I had no time,” Yue Zhishi faced the moonlight, much of his earlier reluctance dissipating, his smile beautiful, “but now I do. So the first thing I want to do after finishing my exams is to squander time.”

'With you, squandering the last day of my high school life.'

Song Yu gave a faint, unreadable smile but didn't respond. It seemed they didn't need constant responses between them.

Yue Zhishi suddenly spotted something and cried out. Song Yu thought it was some small animal passing by, but it turned out to be a basketball stuck between the backboard and the rim.

“Someone must have left this here to save the court.” He ran over.

Peiya School had a lot of boys. With the large population of the Senior and Junior High Divisions combined, basketball courts were a very scarce resource. So everyone often saved courts in advance. A court with a basketball stuck in the hoop was considered taken; this had become an unwritten rule.

Yue Zhishi stood under the hoop, stretched out his arms, and leaped up. His fingers knocked the basketball down. He caught it, bounced it a few times, and the sound of it hitting the ground spread across the empty basketball court.

“Can you teach me how to dunk?” Yue Zhishi asked, then threw the ball over.

Song Yu caught it nimbly and asked him why he wanted to learn.

“I used to always get my shots blocked. I want to try dunking too.” Yue Zhishi looked up at the hoop, unconvinced. “Maybe my vertical jump isn't high enough.”

“That kind of move is flashy, but it's okay if you can't do it. Just practice your three-step layup. Scoring is what's most important.”

Yue Zhishi wasn't moved by Song Yu's pragmatism and was still set on dunking. He begged Song Yu to try. “You definitely know how. I heard from Jiang Yufan that the W University surveying and mapping basketball team is super strong. Aren't you on the basketball team too? Brother, do a dunk for me to see.”

Song Yu stood in place, bouncing the ball a few times. In the end, he couldn't refuse and agreed.

He loosened his ankles and neck, dribbled forward, leaped up off one foot, grabbed the rim directly with his left arm, and slammed the ball into the hoop with his right. The entire basketball hoop shook.

Yue Zhishi was stunned. He not only dunked with ease, but he also grabbed the rim.

“Brother Song Yu, you're amazing.”

Hearing Yue Zhishi's heartfelt praise, Song Yu had to admit he was a little pleased. Back when he first started high school, Song Yu became a key player on the school's basketball team. Once he was on the court, the score-focused Song Yu would always tune out everything off-court, completely blocking out the voices of others—unless he knew Yue Zhishi was watching from below.

Back then, they didn't interact at school. Yue Zhishi would sometimes stand in the crowd and watch, but he wouldn't shout Song Yu's name out loud like the others.

And he would never know that every time Song Yu scored, the first person he looked back for was always him.

Even with a perfect example right in front of him, a skill like dunking wasn't so easy to copy. Yue Zhishi tried several times but still couldn't do it. A little discouraged, he squatted down to retie his shoelaces, preparing to try again.

Seeing him try repeatedly, Song Yu worried he might injure his Achilles tendon. “Dunking isn't something you can learn in a day or two. You can practice your vertical jump and explosive power more during the summer break. It'll be easier then.”

“Will you practice with me then?” Yue Zhishi stood up and expressed himself very directly. “I want to play ball with you. We've never played together before.”

When he was in junior high, Song Yu was already achieving glorious results on the basketball team, but no one knew he was Song Yu's younger brother, and he couldn't cling to his side. By the time everyone found out, Song Yu was in his third year of high school and had left the team.

After spending six years at Peiya School, it wasn't until the very last day that he could stand on the same court and play ball with Song Yu.

Seeing the regret on Yue Zhishi's face, Song Yu turned away and looked at the moon. “We'll see.”

After saying that, he added in a low voice, “If I have time, it's not impossible.”

Whenever Song Yu used a double negative, it made him sound particularly evasive. What was evasive was his awkward, true feelings.

Getting an ambiguous promise from his brother was enough to make Yue Zhishi very satisfied. While he still had the feel for it, he tried a few three-pointers, and his aim was pretty good.

“Sigh.”

Hearing Yue Zhishi sigh, Song Yu glanced over and asked with feigned indifference, “What's wrong?”

Yue Zhishi dribbled the ball under the hoop, lifted his hand, and sent the ball into the basket. He immediately picked it up again, tucking it under his arm at his hip. “On the last day before graduating from high school, Yue Zhishi's dunking record at Peiya School is still zero.”

Looking up at the hoop, Yue Zhishi shrugged as if giving up on himself. “Forget it, I'll just save this plan for...”

Before he could finish his sentence, he was suddenly airborne. With his feet abruptly off the ground, Yue Zhishi was so startled that the end of his sentence trailed off, and he almost dropped the basketball in his hands. “Brother, what are you doing!”

Song Yu said in a deep voice, “Don't move,” and walked forward step by step while holding his legs, finally stopping in front of the hoop.

“Shoot.” His tone was still nonchalant, as if he wasn't the one performing this strange action.

“Huh?” Yue Zhishi looked at the hoop that was right in front of him, a bit dazed. He glanced down and saw Song Yu, who was holding him, tilt his head as if questioning why he wasn't moving.

So he acted, slamming the ball in his hands into the hoop from mid-air, in a way he had never imagined.

“Two points.” Song Yu spoke like an impartial referee, but his actions were biased to the point of reaching the Antarctic Circle. He let go, setting down the still-dazed Yue Zhishi.

'This is cheating, isn't it.'

Thud—

Thud—

The basketball fell, but Yue Zhishi's heart was still floating in the night sky.

Standing in front of him, Song Yu raised an eyebrow. “Yue Zhishi, student of Class 10, Year 3, Peiya High School.”

Being called out by name, Yue Zhishi looked up and saw the corners of his mouth curve into a slight smile.

“Dunking record, plus one.”