"Fang, why don't you hire me?" Hua Tong leaned on the bed, playing games while talking to Qin Fang.

"Hire you for what?" Qin Fang asked while sitting in a chair reading a book.

Hua Tong said, "To tutor you. Going to cram school would cost you tens of thousands, but I can tutor you in general courses, bro."

Qin Fang kept his head down reading and said, "But I wasn't planning to sign up for classes."

"Just pretend you were going to," Hua Tong said, "and then I intercepted you. I'll teach you instead."

Qin Fang looked at him, "So how would you charge, little bro?"

Hua Tong said, "Let me stay at your place without paying rent. Let me live here for free, and Teacher Hua will tutor you every day."

Qin Fang couldn't keep chatting anymore and laughed, "Stop messing around, who's stopping you from staying?"

Hua Tong finished a round of his game. His phone was a bit hot so he tossed it aside, lay flat and stretched, letting out a long sigh, "It's so damn good to have a bro."

Qin Fang recently bought a small apartment not far from their school. After the semester started, three freshmen moved into the dorm.

With a three-year generation gap, Qin Fang indeed felt he couldn't connect with the freshmen. He didn't know if he was like this as a freshman too, but now the dorm was too noisy. Plus, Qin Fang was used to living with his two previous roommates, so after changing people, it always felt a bit off.

He simply stopped staying there and moved out.

The few dozen square meter bachelor pad wasn't big, but enough for him to live in. There was room for Hua Tong to stay over too, and he had already been here for several days. The dorm environment was really too shabby.

Actually, with no classes now, Qin Fang could go straight home, but he really didn't want to stay at the Jian family's place. The small building was also too far and inconvenient to come and go from.

Having a place like this to live in now was quite comfortable. Hua Tong also found it comfortable and didn't want to leave after staying.

Hua Tong had nothing to do now. Occasionally he went to school to work on a project, and the rest of the time he was just idling around. Those with guaranteed grad school admission were all so carefree at this point. While Qin Fang studied, he played on his phone all morning. At noon, he strolled out to buy things and brought back lunch for the two of them.

When Qin Fang was studying, he was usually quite focused. Hua Tong had left and come back without him really noticing.

Hua Tong set out the food on the dining table. After washing his hands, he came over and patted Qin Fang's shoulder, "Take a break, let's eat."

"Coming," Qin Fang responded.

By late September, it wasn't so hot anymore. In early autumn, there was no need to turn on the AC. Opening the windows and letting the breeze blow in felt very comfortable. Qin Fang washed his hands to eat. Taking a bite of beef, not bad, he smiled and said, "The two of us are living quite a life. My Tong is so virtuous, like a little housewife."

"After all, you're the sugar daddy, of course I have to serve you well." Hua Tong grinned a bit stupidly. The two of them together these days were like a pair of fools.

Halfway through the meal, Qin Fang suddenly said, "Actually, we're just two single old dogs with no choice but to huddle together."

Hua Tong almost choked on his mouthful of rice. "Just eat your food, why do you have so much to say."

Qin Fang was amused. After a while, he said again, "Originally, when I wasn't single, what did you have to do with me?"

"What's the point of saying that," Hua Tong scoffed. "Now you're single too, right? Now who's better off than who? We haven't had any sweet romance, and we don't miss it either. Who knows whose heart aches."

Hua Tong's words were too harsh, stabbing the heart to shreds.

The two of them didn't avoid this matter when talking anyway. In front of Qin Fang, this wasn't some scar that needed to be skirted around. At first, Hua Tong didn't dare bring it up, afraid Qin Fang's heart was fragile from heartbreak. But later he found he was overthinking it.

Qin Fang's attitude was frank and natural. If it came up, they'd chat about it, no need to be deliberately cautious about anything.

Xing Yan had been gone for two months. Time passed too quickly. Back then it was the height of summer, now it was already early autumn.

They never contacted each other again. Hua Tong always admired this about Qin Fang. No matter how much he liked someone before, once they were no longer together, there was no need to keep entangling with each other, no need for any lingering attachments.

He never saw Qin Fang talk to Xing Yan again, and never saw any interaction between them.

Clean and thorough.

"Do you need me to delete him too?" Hua Tong had asked at the time.

Qin Fang shook his head, "No need, why would you delete him? I haven't even deleted him, are you being childish?"

Hua Tong said, "Then never mind. But I guess there won't be any more contact in the future anyway."

Whether there was contact or not was unknown, but since they had added each other before, there was a bond. Deleting a friend just because a relationship on one side didn't work out seemed a bit immature.

Just like Qin Fang also wouldn't delete Si Tu and Han Xiaogong, although his relationship with them was quite good to begin with.

But quite a few things had actually happened in these two months. Looking back now, two months ago versus two months later, it seemed like a long time had passed, leaving one a bit dazed.

The incident with Han Xiaogong on Weibo suddenly blew up and stayed a hot topic for quite a long time, making the hot search list several times. Every time Qin Fang thought about it, he still wanted to frown. He never liked these messy affairs. They were troublesome and affected one's mood. And the matter itself made one's heart turn cold.

It was like a farce, but the exposure of feelings and human nature in the whole affair was too naked, ugly, and embarrassing.

It started with a makeup blogger posting two posts directly @-ing Han Xiaogong, and later posting a long post accusing Han Xiaogong of being a third party and stealing her boyfriend. She made herself out to be very pitiful and described it tragically.

Her Weibo originally had a bit over 10,000 followers, not that many, but now netizens were crazed for gossip, and this kind of gossip was the easiest to stir up.

Qin Fang was very shocked when he saw that long post, truly shocked, because the boyfriend mentioned as being stolen turned out to be Xie Zhe.

The long post included photos, couple pics of the boyfriend and girlfriend, as well as chat logs between Xie Zhe and her. The fact that Xie Zhe and Han Xiaogong were together wasn't a secret to begin with. They had been quite high-profile for a while. Xie Zhe interacted a lot in the comments of Han Xiaogong's Weibo and had openly posted photos too.

This almost nailed the coffin on Han Xiaogong being a third party. Almost overnight, Han Xiaogong's Weibo exploded with over 50,000 comments cursing him out. The matter trended all night. By the time Qin Fang saw it, he saw every imaginable and unimaginable insult in Han Xiaogong's Weibo.

Internet celebrities were already a group that attracted curses. Anything pinned on an internet celebrity seemed to become even more curse-worthy.

Qin Fang didn't realize how vicious people could be online these days until he saw Han Xiaogong's Weibo post. It was truly an appalling sight.

Qin Fang felt enraged at the time, first furious that Xie Zhe actually had a girlfriend, and then angry that netizens started going wild after seeing a single Weibo post.

Xie Zhe had been with Han Xiaogong for a few months, and it never crossed Qin Fang's mind that he wasn't single. His infatuation with Han Xiaogong seemed so genuine, like his soul was completely captivated.

Qin Fang's first reaction upon seeing that Weibo post was disbelief, but it looked real no matter how he looked at it.

This whole thing was terrible. Han Xiaogong didn't respond at first, which Qin Fang expected. There wasn't much he could say anyway. Claim he didn't know Xie Zhe had a girlfriend? Who would believe that?

But even if Han Xiaogong didn't reply or speak up, this matter wouldn't end. The girl on the other side kept posting on Weibo, lamenting how miserable she was. This kind of gossip spread like wildfire. Staying silent forever was impossible.

Later, Han Xiaogong posted a brief Weibo message, simply stating he was unaware of the situation. He could never cry and wail about how pitiful he was like the girl did. That wasn't his style, something he definitely couldn't do. So his concise words were seen as a provocation in the eyes of the warriors already poised to attack with their swords.

The other side had no intention of letting this die down. The girl's follower count had already soared from over 10,000 to over 100,000. Every day she would share new chat logs, even getting her hands on Xie Zhe and Han Xiaogong's private conversations. Having these intimate chats exposed online was utterly humiliating.

It's not hard to imagine the vicious insults that followed. This whole thing was sickening, making one's heart ache just thinking about it.

Netizens, clad in cold, hard armor and wielding sharp blades, defended their so-called "justice". Everyone spoke with an air of righteousness, hurling the most venomous curses and abuse at those they deemed evil without restraint.

What is justice, what is evil - who defines these things across the internet? Perhaps the truth isn't even that important. A male internet celebrity more beautiful than a girl - it doesn't matter if he speaks up or not, no one listens. The audience had already taken sides before he even opened his mouth. Not saying anything meant he had already lost.

Qin Fang didn't ask Han Xiaogong about this, didn't bring it up to him. It's best not to mention such depressing matters.

Han Xiaogong and Si Tu had already gone back, no longer here. Qin Fang hadn't seen them in a while. The scandal around Han Xiaogong dragged on for a long time, exposing a lot of his personal information as well as things from their past.

Zhou Siming, Xing Yan - no one escaped unscathed. Even their middle school photos were dug up. In the pictures, Han Xiaogong had a very edgy hairstyle, imbued with the zeitgeist and chuunibyou vibes of that era. Those photos were turned into mocking memes to disparage him.

The stories of Zhou Siming and Xing Yan being school bullies also surfaced, with a mix of truths, lies and exaggerations piling up as black material. In their mouths, Han Xiaogong had become a boy who was kept since high school, and their little group in the building had messy, promiscuous relationships.

It was disgusting. Qin Fang felt they had no bottom line in their determination to trample Han Xiaogong to death.

Later, Qin Fang called Han Xiaogong. He sounded quite composed on the phone. Qin Fang chatted with him for a bit, and Han Xiaogong even invited him to come visit.

They didn't mention the thing with Xie Zhe.

Qin Fang asked him: "How is Si Tu's health?"

Han Xiaogong said: "Not very good."

Qin Fang asked: "Is he still coughing after going back?"

Han Xiaogong made an "mm" sound and sighed, saying: "Come by when you have time."

Qin Fang said okay.

Han Xiaogong asked him: "Still in touch with Yan-ge?"

Qin Fang said softly that he wasn't.

Han Xiaogong laughed and said gently: "So ruthless, both of you. Won't you regret it?"

"Don't know," Qin Fang said after some thought.

Han Xiaogong said they were ruthless, that if they turned away now, they might not be able to turn back. If he left, they might not see each other again for years.

Hua Tong also said the two of them were impressive, just breaking it off like that, very stubborn.

Whenever this was brought up, Qin Fang would just smile and not say much. Others saw this and thought the two of them were obstinate. Their bond was so deep, yet they could let go just like that. Pretty cool.

— Cool, my ass. Being "cool" is just in the eyes of others.

The truth is, before Xing Yan left, he called Qin Fang, and Qin Fang picked up. He also went to the airport.

They did meet, unlike what others assumed about them not seeing each other at all.

It wasn't as casual as outsiders imagined. When they met, they hugged each other with one arm. Xing Yan was wearing a shirt that day.

Qin Fang smiled and patted his back, saying "Yan-ge, may your future be bright." Xing Yan touched the back of Qin Fang's head, lightly scratching his scalp.

An embrace that looked intimate but not overstepping boundaries, a common sight at the airport, a pair of brothers saying goodbye.

Xing Yan didn't say a word from beginning to end that day.

After that hug, there wasn't much left to say. Everything that should've been said had been said, and the rest shouldn't be spoken. Qin Fang just went to see him, to send him off. Once he did, he left.

He was the one who left first, not waiting for Xing Yan to board the plane.

After walking a few steps, Qin Fang looked back and waved at Xing Yan with a smile. Qin Fang's smile was just like when they first met at the library, direct with his emotions, sincere and beautiful.

Xing Yan looked at him and smiled back slightly. Then he parted his lips, biting on something between his teeth. He pushed it forward with the tip of his tongue.

Qin Fang stood there from a distance, watching him. In an instant, his heart felt empty. He turned around and practically ran out of the airport.

— Xing Yan had been holding a blue star between his teeth the whole time.