He Lezhi didn't know if another call came. He put his phone on silent, left it to charge in the bedroom, and paid it no more attention.

Zhou Muyao was capable of anything after drinking. He Lezhi didn't plan on looking at his phone for now. There were so many other phones on that table; he couldn't possibly block them all.

When he took Zhou Muyao's call completely off guard, at a moment when he was relaxed and defenseless, that familiar "Lezhi" was like a cold arrow, piercing straight into He Lezhi's chest.

This was completely different from the effect of taking the call when he was prepared.

For the rest of the night, He Lezhi didn't go into the bedroom. After showering, he lay on his side on the sofa in his pajamas. The TV was off, no music was playing, and besides his own breathing, there wasn't a single sound in the room. He Lezhi lay there quietly, his legs slightly curled.

The next morning, He Lezhi got up first and went out for an hour-long run. He came back, showered, changed, and had breakfast.

Before leaving for work, he went to the bedroom to get his fully charged phone. There were no missed calls on the screen, but there were a few WeChat messages.

He Lezhi tapped to open it. His cousin, Xiao An, had sent a link to a necklace in the middle of the night, saying: Brother, brother, I want this.

He Lezhi replied: Got it.

It was a handmade jewelry shop. The prices weren't cheap, and the waiting list was long. The owner sent a picture of a new design they were working on, estimating that a few would be available for sale by the end of the year or early next year.

Snagging one would be difficult, but luckily, she had a brother.

The shop owner was He Lezhi's next-door roommate from college, a freelancer who had switched careers to make jewelry. Xiao An had started following the shop after He Lezhi gave her one of their pieces as a birthday gift.

Xiao An sent back a sticker.

He Lezhi hadn't had a chance to see her since her wedding was canceled. He asked with concern: How have you been lately?

Xiao An replied after a moment: I'm actually doing pretty well...

Then she sent another message: May I ask the same of you?

When Xiao An's wedding was canceled, He Lezhi was still in the process of ordering a ring. His long-distance relationship had just ended, life was happy, and the relationship was stable. Now, Xiao An's question, knowing he had also broken up, made the whole situation seem ridiculous.

He Lezhi tugged at the corner of his mouth and replied: I'm also doing okay.

The other messages were from Han Fangchi. He Lezhi opened them. There was a missed call from ten o'clock last night and two messages.

—Lezhi.

—Give me a call.

He Lezhi didn't reply. He unblocked his number, locked his phone, put it in his pocket, and left for work.

That call Zhou Muyao made using Han Fangchi's phone could be considered to have broken the private understanding the two of them had built up over the past days.

He Lezhi didn't answer the two calls Han Fangchi made on Monday and Tuesday, giving him the same treatment as his other friends. On Wednesday, after work, Han Fangchi called again. He Lezhi was in a meeting at the time, so he rejected the call and replied with a message: Busy.

Han Fangchi replied: Let me know when you're done.

He Lezhi's "busy" stretched into the next day.

He had gone off the grid unilaterally. Han Fangchi couldn't reach him for three consecutive days.

In reality, He Lezhi wasn't really angry, not even a bit resentful. The only thing that felt dissonant was imagining that table of people watching Zhou Muyao make the call, and it was Han Fangchi who had given him the phone. But that was also normal. Han Fangchi and Zhou Muyao's relationship went back so many years; it was perfectly reasonable.

He Lezhi didn't think it was a big deal, let alone something to be angry about.

It just made him remember the relationship he had previously overlooked. Han Fangchi was, after all, Zhou Muyao's older brother. They had known each other for over twenty years.

On Thursday, Han Fangchi didn't call directly. He sent a message during the lunch break.

—Still busy?

He Lezhi remembered he had forgotten to reply yesterday and texted back with a smile: And who might you be?

Han Fangchi: Me, Fangchi.

Han Fangchi: Can I call?

He Lezhi leaned back in his chair and dialed his number.

"What's up, Director Han?" He Lezhi said first as soon as the call connected.

His tone was light, casual, and joking.

Han Fangchi started by apologizing, "I'm sorry, Lezhi."

He Lezhi let out a laugh. "What for?"

Han Fangchi said, "Xiao Hei used my phone to call you."

He Lezhi said during his pause, "It's nothing."

Han Fangchi continued, "I didn't know he was calling. I went to the restroom and didn't take my phone."

"It's really nothing, Fangchi," He Lezhi said. "Did you call me just to say this?"

"To apologize to you," Han Fangchi said.

"No, no," He Lezhi said quickly. "No need to apologize, it's really not a big deal."

Han Fangchi's sincere apology, on the contrary, left He Lezhi at a bit of a loss. Whether he was there at the time or not, making a phone call wasn't something worth apologizing for.

They weren't kids, needing to pick sides after a breakup, where being friends with one person meant you couldn't be friends with the other.

He Lezhi said, "Don't worry about it."

Han Fangchi asked, "Can we still have that meal?"

"Of course." He Lezhi started to laugh. "Let's eat."

"Where should we go?" Han Fangchi said.

He Lezhi: "You decide."

Regardless of whether He Lezhi minded the phone call or was angry, the atmosphere when they met for dinner again was different from before.

Han Fangchi never mentioning Zhou Muyao, combined with the natural way they interacted, had given He Lezhi a feeling of being 'one of them'. That feeling had now vanished without a trace.

Although the change was subtle, that small bit of distance and politeness was definitely there.

They drove their own cars to the restaurant; neither picked the other up.

He Lezhi carried a paper bag containing two necklaces.

"I was buying a necklace for my cousin and got two extra. You can take them back for your two younger sisters," He Lezhi said.

Han Fangchi set it aside and said, "Thanks."

"Is Zhimo graduating soon?" He Lezhi asked.

"Normally she would graduate next year, but she's going straight into a PhD program," Han Fangchi said.

He Lezhi said with a smile, "Your family is full of top students."

Before Han Fangchi could speak, he added, "Except for the Little Demon King."

After Han Fangchi spent two thousand to bribe Han Zhiyao last time, they hadn't had much contact since. They didn't usually communicate much. Han Zhiyao was in her rebellious phase, Han Zhimo was introverted, and no one ever spoke in the family group chat.

But their family environment was quite harmonious. Aside from the war between Ms. Pang's menopause and Han Zhiyao's adolescence, there was almost no conflict in the family.

Theirs was a complete and happy family, just a bit plain.

It was different from He Lezhi's situation. He Lezhi came from a single-parent family, but the mother-son relationship was closer and tighter.

Han Fangchi mentioned that Ning Ken had asked him to play badminton yesterday. He Lezhi didn't respond directly, just smiled and said, "Wait till I've practiced a bit. I can't keep up right now, I'd hold you guys back."

"It doesn't matter," Han Fangchi said.