He Lezhi moved into the unit next to Han Fangchi's the very next day, becoming his neighbor.

Han Fangchi and Xiao Yao helped him move. Xiao Yao had stayed over at Han Fangchi's place the previous night. He Lezhi had said he needed to go back and pack, so he took a taxi home. The next morning, the two went directly to He Lezhi's place. While moving things, Xiao Yao kept grumbling, saying why did the two of them get to live so close while he was the only one who lived far away.

He Lezhi asked Xiao Yao, "You won't tell Xiao Hei I live here, right Yaoyao?"

Xiao Yao threw the box he was holding down by the door, stood up straight, looked at He Lezhi, and said, "Why don't you ask him?"

He pointed at Han Fangchi, who was also carrying two boxes behind him. "Why don't you tell him not to say anything?"

He Lezhi quickly shut his mouth.

"So I'm the one with the big mouth, is that it?" Xiao Yao blinked. "They're relatives, you know. You don't say anything to him, but you say it to me."

"I won't ask anymore." 'That was a really unnecessary thing to say, why did I have to provoke him?' He Lezhi thought.

"I'm speechless," Xiao Yao let out a long breath, bent down, picked up the box again, and carried it inside. "I'm really speechless."

For some people, friendship carries a sense of possessiveness and exclusivity, which was why Xiao Yao always had these little thoughts back in school. But with these two, he couldn't possess or exclude either of them. He always felt that their bond was better. Many times, out of jealousy, he'd get moody and not want to be friends with them anymore, but then they would be good to him, and he couldn't bear to cut them off.

Now that he was older, he didn't fuss over these things anymore; he had outgrown the petty-mindedness of his school days. However, the matter of the two of them being close behind his back had left a deep psychological impression on him.

"Didn't you two have a falling out?" Xiao Yao's mouth was never forgiving, and he tossed out the provocative comment.

He Lezhi immediately looked at Han Fangchi, who also looked over. He Lezhi smiled at him, then turned back and retorted, "Stop trying to stir up trouble."

"You two know full well what your relationship is." Xiao Yao said with a grin, swinging his arms. "I even take my mom and my grandma to see Doctor Han for their teeth, and I'm planning to take my grandpa next month. Ever since Doctor Han entered this profession, I've been saying our family's dental care is all sorted out."

He Lezhi pulled a trekking pole out of a box and smacked Xiao Yao on the waist with it. Xiao Yao jumped from the hit, and as he moved aside, He Lezhi kicked him again.

Xiao Yao ran off, laughing loudly. He Lezhi said to Han Fangchi, "Don't listen to him trying to stir up trouble."

Han Fangchi didn't say anything, just raised an eyebrow noncommittally.

He Lezhi looked at Han Fangchi, thought for a moment, and said, "My mom's teeth are really healthy, but how about... I bring her for a cleaning?"

Han Fangchi couldn't hold it in and lowered his eyes with a chuckle.

He Lezhi was about to say more, but Han Fangchi said, "Let's just pack. I ate your food, so I won't hold this against you."

"You're so magnanimous," He Lezhi said with a smile.

'That meal really wasn't for nothing,' He Lezhi thought.

...

"Fangchi found the apartment for you?" He Qi was wearing gloves, cutting potatoes.

He Lezhi was peeling garlic on the other side. "Yes," he said.

He Qi asked, "For how long did you pay the rent?"

"I don't know, Fangchi handled it," He Lezhi replied.

He Qi paused and turned to look at him.

"That's not right, is it?" He Qi said in surprise. She knew her son quite well.

"Don't even mention it." He Lezhi put the small handful of peeled garlic into a bowl. Thinking of something, he looked up and asked, "By the way, Ma'am, when was the last time you had your teeth cleaned?"

"June?" He Qi recalled. "Anyway, if not June then July. It wasn't long ago."

"Ah," He Lezhi said, "Then we'll have to wait."

"Why?" He Qi was completely confused. "Why are you asking about this?"

He Lezhi gave her a helpless look.

"Wait... you didn't go to Fangchi to get your tooth pulled?" He Qi looked at him in disbelief, then burst out laughing. "Hahahahaha, and you got caught?"

He Lezhi stared at her numbly.

"You went to his hospital and you didn't look for him," even knowing him as well as she did, He Qi couldn't understand. She asked him, "What were you thinking? Just because you broke up with Xiao Hei, you were going to cut off Fangchi too?"

"No," He Lezhi said sullenly. "At the time, I just didn't want to see anyone connected to Xiao Hei."

He didn't even know how to begin explaining it to He Qi. To say he'd forgotten they were friends wasn't accurate, and to say he was being considerate of the relationship between Han Fangchi and Zhou Muyao also wasn't quite right. In short, he just hadn't made the distinction in his mind.

"And now you want to use my teeth to coax your good friend," He Qi said.

"Yes." He Lezhi nodded. "My teeth already have a demerit on their record, they're no longer effective."

"Hahahahaha," He Qi laughed without restraint, came over and affectionately rubbed He Lezhi's cheek with her wrist, thinking how amusing her son was. "Take Xiao An instead."

"Little Aunt had hers cleaned too?" He Lezhi asked.

"We went together," He Qi said with a smile.

He Lezhi had clearly been in a much better state recently compared to the period right after his breakup. Back then, although he acted normal, his feigned normality couldn't fool his own mother. There was no light in his eyes, and even his smiles seemed bitter.

He Qi was happy about his gradual recovery. He Lezhi was slowly finding his old self again.

Of course, He Qi knew that Han Fangchi had played an important role in this stage.

She sent Han Fangchi a message on WeChat: Lezhi wants to bring me to you for a cleaning, says you're angry with him, hahahahaha.

Their chat window wasn't completely empty. Above, there were still greetings Han Fangchi had sent for the New Year and on March 8th, to which He Qi had replied with emojis each time. Over the years, Han Fangchi always sent New Year's greetings and holiday wishes.

When Han Fangchi saw it, he replied immediately: Auntie, we were just joking around, I'm not mad [facepalm/]

Han Fangchi added another message: But you're welcome to come for a cleaning.

He Qi wrote: I had mine cleaned in June. I want to see if you're angry. If you are, I can come over and have it done again.

Han Fangchi: No need, Auntie. Don't listen to him. You only need a cleaning once every six months.

He Qi: You two are too funny.

Han Fangchi: [facepalm/][facepalm/]

That evening, He Lezhi was cooking noodles at his place. When Han Fangchi got off work, he came straight over, letting himself in and changing his shoes.

"Fried egg or poached egg?" He Lezhi asked.

"Fried egg," Han Fangchi said. After speaking, he added, "He Lezhi, did you go home and tattle?"

"Hm?" He Lezhi turned around blankly and asked, "What?"

"Auntie said that to make me stop being angry, you wanted to bring her to me for a cleaning." Han Fangchi started laughing as he spoke, looking speechlessly at He Lezhi.

"Ah," He Lezhi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Why did she have to go and tell you?"

"How old are you? Tattling at home," Han Fangchi said.

He Lezhi explained, "I wasn't tattling, I was asking for her opinion."

"I give up," Han Fangchi said.

They used to live close before, but now they were right in adjacent units, making meals and exercising even more convenient. Where they ate in the evening depended on who got off work first; whoever was first would cook. If they both worked late, they would eat out or eat on their own. Of course, they didn't eat together every day, but they ate together more often than not.

Occasionally, He Lezhi would go for a morning run and buy breakfast on his way back. He would come over, open Han Fangchi's door, and leave it in the entryway. If Han Fangchi had time, he'd eat it; if not, he'd take it with him.

For weekend workouts, they no longer needed to make special plans. If one of them felt like exercising, they'd send a WeChat message to ask, change their clothes, and head out.

This level of interaction might have seemed overly close for people who had already graduated, but between the two of them, it wasn't awkward at all.

Add Xiao Yao, who loved to join in on the fun, to the mix. Before, He Lezhi was always hard to get a hold of, but now that he lived close to Han Fangchi, Xiao Yao would run over whenever he was free, sometimes going to one's house, sometimes the other's.

Once at someone else's house, he'd just lie down on the sofa, not treating himself like a guest at all.

Early on Saturday morning, just as He Lezhi got back from his run, he saw Xiao Yao sitting at the entrance to his building, yawning.

He Lezhi asked in surprise, "What are you doing here so early?"

Xiao Yao was so sleepy he could barely open his eyes. "To sleep. I just worked a long night shift."

"Why not go home to sleep?" He Lezhi opened the door and let him in.

Xiao Yao said, "My mom's home. She won't let me sleep during the day at all, she'll come into my room every few minutes."

The two got into the elevator. Xiao Yao mumbled, "I actually went to Fangchi's place just now. He wouldn't open the door for me, told me to get lost."

He Lezhi chuckled. "Fangchi told you to get lost?"

"I embellished it a little," Xiao Yao said, leaning against the wall. "He just told me to be quiet and leave him alone."

Han Fangchi had also worked late the previous night. When Xiao Yao called in the morning saying he was downstairs waiting to be let up, Han Fangchi thought he was messing around, told him to knock it off, and didn't answer his subsequent calls.

He Lezhi said with a smile, "He worked late too. You can just sleep here."

He Lezhi found him a pair of shorts and a blanket. Xiao Yao quickly washed his face and brushed his teeth, then flopped onto the sofa, curled up, and fell asleep.

In the morning, Han Fangchi came over carrying a package for He Lezhi. When he opened the door and saw someone sleeping on the sofa, shirtless and in shorts, he was stunned for a moment.

He looked at He Lezhi, pointed to the sofa, and asked, "Who's that?"

"Xiao Yao," He Lezhi said in a low voice, then broke into a chuckle. "Who else could it be?"

Han Fangchi didn't speak. He Lezhi said, "He came first thing in the morning. Said you didn't open the door for him."

"I thought he was kidding. Who knew he actually came," Han Fangchi also lowered his voice. "What's he here for?"

"To sleep. He just finished a shift," He Lezhi said.

"Why sleep here?" Han Fangchi asked again.

He Lezhi found it funny too. "Said he can't sleep at home."

Xiao Yao was truly exhausted and slept very deeply. By noon, He Lezhi and the others had finished cooking and eating, but he still hadn't woken up.

He Lezhi asked, "Should we wake him up to eat something?"

Han Fangchi placed a bowl of stewed beef brisket on the coffee table. Xiao Yao's face was turned in that direction.

Not even five minutes later, He Lezhi heard a question from the sofa, "The smell woke me up. Is there any food left?"

Han Fangchi said, "Go eat in the kitchen."

"Oh." Xiao Yao got up, put on some slippers, and went to the kitchen to find food.

After eating, Xiao Yao washed his own bowl and chopsticks, rinsed his mouth, and went back to curling up on the sofa.

The other two each occupied a sofa, one reading a book, the other looking at their phone. The only sound in the living room was the breathing of the deeply asleep Xiao Yao. At one point, Xiao Yao woke up from the cold, being shirtless, and got up to re-wrap the blanket tightly around himself before going back to sleep. The other two glanced at him, but no one said anything.

They seemed to have quickly returned to their former state, three very close friends. And even when all three were close, there were always two who were more in sync, mutually favoring each other.

At this moment, this favoritism was pure, without impurities, a continuation of their youthful friendship, born from the mutual warmth and closeness they had shared many years ago.

Author's note:

End of the first stage: "I Knew You First."

Beginning of the next stage: "From Friends to Lovers."