That star was just a little trinket Qin Fang casually gave away. He stuffed an IOU in a red envelope during Chinese New Year, owing it to someone for several months. Xing Yan took it seriously and asked for it several times.

That day when they met, Xing Yan didn't say a word, as if he had accepted it, always keeping his mouth shut, seeming a bit cold. But in the end, when Qin Fang looked back, Xing Yan gave him a faint smile, also letting him see that star held gently in his mouth.

He didn't say anything, but it was as if he said a lot.

In that instant, Qin Fang's emotions nearly collapsed. He ran away from the airport without looking back again. There were some things Xing Yan couldn't say, couldn't open his mouth to say, but he wanted to let Qin Fang know.

Their tacit understanding allowed Qin Fang to know everything with just one look.

But this couldn't change anything, which they were both very clear about.

The scorching summer turned into snowy winter in a flash, feeling very long, but in the blink of an eye it arrived.

When Qin Fang returned to the Jian family home, Jian Muyang was having a snowball fight with his little classmate in the backyard. Seeing him return, he was overjoyed. The little classmate had come over to play. Qin Fang watched them for a while.

Little baby brother was crawling all over the carpet, babbling, which was also very interesting. Qin Fang really liked holding him. The child would gnaw on his hand, getting it covered in saliva and rubbing it on Qin Fang's face, but he didn't mind the mess.

He rarely came back now, keeping a low profile. Every time he returned, Dong Yin always seemed very friendly. Qin Fang didn't care about these things at all now, he just came back to see his little brother.

Qin Fang didn't want that car his dad gave him, it was too flashy and not really suitable for him. An everyday car was enough. Dong Yin drove it for a while but didn't like it much either. Later, who knows where it went, probably gifted to someone else again.

At night before bed, when Jian Muyang was chatting with him, he asked where Tong-ge went.

Qin Fang said Hua Tong was working on a project at school.

Jian Muyang looked at him, his mouth opening and closing, but in the end still asked: "Then where's Yan-ge?"

Qin Fang glanced at him and smiled: "Yan-ge ah..."

Jian Muyang blinked.

The little boy had always liked Xing Yan a lot. In his heart, Xing Yan was a very gentle older brother. Before, during a meal, Jian Muyang found out that Qin Fang and Xing Yan were dating. Later, Xing Yan disappeared and they didn't play together anymore.

Jian Muyang asked about it a couple times at first, but never brought it up again after that.

Asking about it now, Qin Fang patted his head and said: "Yan-ge went abroad to study. Yan-ge is super amazing."

Jian Muyang pursed his lips in a smile and asked in a very relaxed tone: "How amazing is that?"

Qin Fang raised his eyebrows and said casually: "The most amazing you can imagine."

Jian Muyang giggled and said in an equally casual tone: "Then I'll learn from Yan-ge."

"No need for that," Qin Fang flicked his forehead. "Just be happy, little one."

Actually, Jian Muyang wasn't that little anymore, already in 5th grade. He understood a lot of things, so he hadn't really brought up Xing Yan much all this time. Today he couldn't hold back from asking, but after asking, he didn't mention it further. He also didn't follow up by asking when Yan-ge would come back, or if he would come back at all.

If his brother knew, he would have directly said earlier - wait for your Yan-ge to come back and take you to play.

Changes in relationships could be heard in the way people spoke. Jian Muyang had always been very sensitive and perceptive. Qin Fang didn't say it like that, didn't mention Xing Yan coming back, so he shouldn't ask about it again.

Qin Fang looked at him and reached out to pat his hair again.

That year for Spring Festival, Qin Fang once again didn't spend it with the Jian family. Just like before, he packed a bag and left.

In the middle, he went and stayed a few days at Si Tu and Han Xiaogong's place, taking a stroll around that house he was so familiar with. He still stayed in that same room, that same bed.

The little courtyard was still the same as before, the flowers in the yard blooming beautifully.

Gong Qi's workplace wasn't far, so she often came over. Si Tu looked thinner than before, but still spoke with the same gentle calmness as always. Han Xiaogong was also still the same, but his hair was cut short. Although you couldn't tell at a glance that he was a guy, it also wasn't long enough to drape down his back like before.

The two sat casually on the steps chatting. Qin Fang asked him why he cut it. Han Xiaogong grabbed a handful of hair on top, not seeming to care much, and said: "Too lazy to wash it."

Qin Fang looked at him and said: "Your aura changed."

"You liked it better before, right?" Han Xiaogong laughed lightly. "You like long straight black hair, you straight boy."

Qin Fang smiled and nodded, quite honest.

"I regret cutting it," Han Xiaogong blew air upwards, making his bangs flutter. "After cutting it, I felt a bit heartbroken."

"Grow it out again." Qin Fang said. "I know you actually really like your hair."

Han Xiaogong didn't say anything, grabbing another handful of hair on top of his head.

After that incident, he never posted on Weibo again. Han Xiaogong basically disappeared from the internet. Because of what happened with him, Qin Fang was also implicated. Many fans who had come over from Han Xiaogong's side before sent private messages cursing him out together, saying anyone associated with him could forget about having it good.

Han Xiaogong had never signed with a company or had a team to begin with. His Weibo was just for his own amusement, so at a time like this, there was no one to back him up.

There had long been many people who disliked him. His popularity was too high, and he didn't cooperate with people. Now many in the same industry wanted to trample him to death.

Many marketing accounts took the field to stir up drama. Gossip about him spread everywhere, even his old emo photos became memes. With a mix of true and false, real and fake information, these buried him in the dirt, never to turn over again.

Qin Fang had posted one Weibo post, saying a few words to help Han Xiaogong. After that, his Weibo also got flooded, but Qin Fang didn't really use it much to begin with. He directly uninstalled it and never went on again, not caring about this mess.

Han Xiaogong had said before that his hair was his asset. Now he said he cut it because he didn't need it anymore.

He said: "Before, washing my hair was always annoying, blow drying it was annoying, and I often had to do some nourishing treatments to maintain the shine. At that time, I thought once I stopped taking photos, I would cut it, having kept it long enough. But after cutting it, I still regretted it, feeling like I lost a piece of myself."

Qin Fang asked him: "Not going to take photos anymore in the future?"

"Not anymore."

"What about Weibo? Don't want that anymore either?"

Han Xiaogong said: "Can't anymore, it's ruined."

Qin Fang furrowed his brow: "After some time? No one will remember someone else's business forever."

Han Xiaogong shook his head: "They will, it won't pass. And I don't want to play anymore either. Besides, how could I keep playing, there will always be people who want me to disappear. It's because I never spoke up. If I did, it would only make things worse. It's a trap."

Qin Fang said: "I later uninstalled Weibo, too lazy to look."

Han Xiaogong laughed and said: "Then you missed all the excitement." Qin Fang raised his eyebrows. Han Xiaogong said, "Now everyone is saying that I had gender reassignment surgery and have been a woman for a long time. A bunch of people are also claiming to have slept with me, proving it's true. Isn't that interesting?"

Qin Fang furrowed his brows and cursed, "Idiots."

"Do you want to say something?" Qin Fang asked.

"What is there to say?" Han Xiaogong leaned back, half-smiling. "No one will believe me no matter what I say. Those who want to curse at me won't listen anyway, and those who don't want to curse at me won't believe me even if I don't say anything. Besides, what can I say?

"Unless I take off my pants and film a video, how can I prove it? Even with a video, they can say it's fake and not filmed by me. I can't convince them even if I had a hundred mouths, so I might as well stay silent."

Qin Fang no longer felt anything as he didn't take it seriously in the first place. But it was different for Han Xiaogong. It was his job, his life. Everything he had now actually relied on the internet. The internet had changed him into a different person and altered his original life trajectory.

In fact, Qin Fang could see that he was very dependent on it. Taking photos, posting them, chatting with fans - this was his life, but now it was all cut off.

After a while, Qin Fang said, "Actually, there are still many people speaking up for you. They don't believe those rumors. Just think, in the end, what unrelated people say doesn't really matter. You do your own thing."

Han Xiaogong still shook his head. He plucked a weed growing from a crack in the edge of the platform and said, "I know, many girls are working hard to defend me. When they can't argue anymore, they curse, as if being louder will help them win the argument for me. The girls are very cute and kind."

"That's right, those who like you are still here."

"Half of them," Han Xiaogong unconsciously wrapped the weed around his fingers as he spoke slowly. "The other half believed it and left, or turned around and joined in the cursing, feeling they were blind to like me for so many years, to like such a scumbag."

"But why bother?" He finished speaking and smiled faintly again. "Liking someone has become something that can't be said aloud, even a bit shameful. Liking someone means you're foolish, have no values, are brainless... and so on. It's not necessary. It's too tiring. I also don't want to see the girls working so hard. Liking someone online should have been a happy pastime. When it becomes a burden, it's no fun anymore, right?

"Besides, I have nothing to give them. I'm just an internet celebrity, good-looking, taking some photos, using popularity to make money. Forget it."

When he said this, some suppression could still be seen, different from before. Actually, what about him? As his friend, Qin Fang felt shocked seeing the instant surge of overwhelming malice. People nowadays spoke too harshly, each word a knife, best if it could pierce through the internet and directly stab the person to death.

Qin Fang asked him, "Then what will you do in the future?"

"There's a lot I can do," Han Xiaogong looked at him, lightly raising an eyebrow. "Afraid I won't have money to earn?"

Qin Fang didn't speak. Han Xiaogong said, "I have enough money. Taking ads and such hasn't been my main income for a long time. Later it was just for fun, otherwise why would I be so lazy?"

"That's good then." Qin Fang still felt a bit heavy in his heart. Actually, he wanted to ask why Xie Zhe never stood up to say anything to help him, but he didn't know what Han Xiaogong's thoughts were regarding Xie Zhe, how deep their feelings were. He was afraid to touch a sore spot, so he didn't ask.

But Han Xiaogong could also see that he wanted to ask this. He nonchalantly took the initiative to say, "I told you, this is a trap. He hates me, thinks I'm ruthless. They broke up long ago. The woman found him, wanting to use my fame, teaming up with his ex-girlfriend to take me down."

Qin Fang was speechless. He cursed several dirty words in his heart, and couldn't help but also curse aloud, irritated and upset. At the time, Xie Zhe seemed quite sunny. He really couldn't tell he could do something like this.

Han Xiaogong looked at him and laughed. Qin Fang suddenly remembered that Han Xiaogong had said before that the love Xie Zhe gave him made him feel insecure, rootless, very ungrounded. So Han Xiaogong, who had seen countless people, still had very accurate judgment.

But seeing countless people was useless too. The boat still capsized.

After chatting with him, Qin Fang was obviously in a very bad mood, his face gloomy. His temper wasn't very good to begin with, and violent emotions welled up.

Han Xiaogong chuckled and said, "When you have a sullen face without any expression now, you look a lot like Yan-ge."

Qin Fang looked at him. Han Xiaogong said, "Really similar."

After saying that, he patted Qin Fang's shoulder and lightly swung his arm, saying, "No need to be angry for me. Life is divided into stages. Walk through each stage. When the time comes, you have to move to the next."

"I've already stayed at this stage for a very long time. It's time I moved on. Actually, everyone had already left. Only I remain. This is just a signal."

"That's why I asked you to come meet. I'm leaving after the new year. Yan-ge and Zhou Siming have both left. Si Tu left Gong Qi without any worries. I'll go out and find life."

Han Xiaogong stood up. Qin Fang looked up at him. Han Xiaogong glanced around, at the courtyard and the small building behind him, tugged at his lip and said, "I'm actually not dependent on this place. I even detest it. I hate our past and the process of us growing up. This place was used to make us grow up. Once grown, we shouldn't stay any longer. Just like those things about us dug up online from the past, we've seen too much of the evil in human nature. Just a glance is sickening. We all hate it, so they all left."

Qin Fang had been looking up at him the whole time. Han Xiaogong lowered his head and said, "Life is about farewells."

Life has always been about farewells.

Growing up and parting, it never stops.

Qin Fang's visit this time was quite timely. It had rained for two days and the second floor leaked again. Two basins were placed in Han Xiaogong's room to catch the water. Qin Fang happened to be there and spent an afternoon fixing their roof.

He had been on this roof before. Last New Year's Eve, he and Xing Yan had lain on it, with Xing Yan calling the stars in his southern accent. Qin Fang went up, patted the dust from his hands, and smiled.

Now only the two with the least ability to act were left in this building. One lacked physical strength, the other was too weak at manual work. Qin Fang took it upon himself to go up and fix it. Han Xiaogong stood on the ladder and passed him things.

Before, it was Zhou Siming and Xing Yan who protected these two. Now those two protectors had both left. They left very resolutely. They wouldn't even say goodbye to this place.

Fortunately, everyone was mature enough now, and life was very peaceful. No one needed to be protected anymore. They could all live well.

Qin Fang squatted on the rooftop, pouring asphalt, and said to Han Xiaogong, "I don't know where you'll go in the future, but if you need anything, just give me a call."

"What for?" Han Xiaogong chuckled, "Although Yan-ge is gone, I won't poach you. Don't tell me you have a thing for me."

"That's impossible. You've even cut your hair." Qin Fang knew he was joking and joked back.

Han Xiaogong said, "Thanks."

Qin Fang smiled, "You're welcome."