Miao Jiayan was sensitive and delicate about many things, but in some matters, he could indeed seem thoughtless.

For instance, Miao Jiayan had actually heard what his dad and Eldest Aunt were saying just now, and he had heard even more than Chen Chao.

Chen Chao asked him, "Are your parents having a second child?"

Miao Jiayan shook his head, with a hint of confusion and indifference, "I don't know, maybe."

Youngest Uncle lit another firework. It exploded with a "bang" overhead, a large patch of silver-white sparks spreading out. The two children in the neighboring yard jumped up and clapped, and even Miao Jiayan couldn't help but let out a small "wow."

Chen Chao looked at him. To still be in the mood to watch fireworks at a time like this, he was truly silly.

Miao Jiayan said to him, "This one is really pretty."

Chen Chao asked, "Has the town stopped setting off fireworks for the Lantern Festival these past two years?"

"They don't anymore," Miao Jiayan said, shaking his head. "They didn't last year, and it seems they won't this year either."

In the past, the town would set off fireworks together every year on the night of the Lantern Festival, at the small square. More than half the town would go over after dinner, watching amidst the crowds. Back then, Chen Chao didn't like to go, but Miao Jiayan would always drag him there, grabbing his wrist and pulling him along, even coaxing him by saying they would come back after watching for just a little while.

Miao Jiayan looked up and asked Chen Chao, "Can you stay until the fifteenth, Brother Chao?"

"I can't," Chen Chao said, "I'm leaving on the fourth."

"Ah." Miao Jiayan responded, then nodded to show he understood.

Youngest Uncle leisurely set off those fireworks for twenty minutes. In the neighboring yard, Miao Jiayan's two little cousins hadn't seen enough and were still clamoring to watch more. From his side, Youngest Uncle shouted, "There are no more! Watch again next year!"

Miao Jiayan said he was going back. Chen Chao tilted his chin towards the neighboring yard; Miao Jian was still setting off fireworks with the kids, chatting with Eldest Aunt on the side.

"Wait a bit longer." Chen Chao turned and went into the house first, signaling for Miao Jiayan to come in too.

So Miao Jiayan followed Chen Chao upstairs again.

When Ding Wentao came over from his house carrying a laptop, Chen Chao was washing up, and Miao Jiayan was standing at the bathroom door talking to him.

It wasn't clear what they were talking about, but his expression was all smiles.

Ding Wentao went upstairs and glared at Miao Jiayan when he saw him.

"Why aren't you staying home on New Year's Eve?" Chen Chao said after rinsing his mouth and spitting out the foam.

"Isn't there someone else here who's not staying home? Why can't I come?" Ding Wentao retorted.

"Who said you couldn't come," Chen Chao said. "As long as your dad doesn't mind."

"My dad drank too much, he's asleep," Ding Wentao said as he entered the room and took out his computer. "I'm celebrating the New Year here with you."

Chen Chao had slept a lot during the day, so he wasn't sleepy now. Ding Wentao said he wanted to watch a movie, and Chen Chao thought that was fine.

The computer was full of games; even opening a video player took a long time to load. In the past, they used discs to watch movies, but now Ding Wentao had downloaded them in advance. One folder was filled with horror movies that he was usually too scared to watch by himself.

"Let's watch this one. I heard it's super scary." Ding Wentao wanted to watch but was a bit spooked. He turned back to ask Chen Chao, "I've always wanted to watch it but couldn't find anyone to watch with me."

Chen Chao chuckled and said, "As long as you dare to go home by yourself."

"Fuck, I wouldn't dare," Ding Wentao said immediately. "I'm staying here tonight."

Boys this age always liked to hang out in groups. Ding Wentao seemed to particularly enjoy sleeping on the floor at Chen Chao's place. Miao Jiayan was still standing at the door, hesitating about whether he should go back, when Chen Chao looked back at him, "Come in, what are you standing there for?"

Miao Jiayan had no choice but to follow him in.

As soon as he came in, Ding Wentao glared at him again and said, "Heartless."

"That's enough out of you," Chen Chao said, kicking the leg of a chair. "Act a little more like a Top Dog."

"I'm not watching with him, tell him to leave," Ding Wentao said while plugging in the power cord.

Miao Jiayan leaned against the wall and pursed his lips.

"Have you still not figured it out?" Chen Chao laughed out loud, glanced at Miao Jiayan, and said, "Come sit here."

Miao Jiayan obediently walked over. Ding Wentao shot them both a look and grunted angrily.

Chen Chao said to Miao Jiayan, "Don't mind him."

"He doesn't mind me anyway," Ding Wentao said sourly. "Acts like he doesn't know me."

"This is Top Dog-bro. Greet him when you see him from now on," Chen Chao said. "If you don't take the initiative to greet him, Top Dog-bro will lose face."

Miao Jiayan learned quickly. He looked at Ding Wentao and immediately said, "Top Dog-bro."

"Get lost, get lost, all of you get lost," Ding Wentao knew Chen Chao was deliberately making fun of him. He waved his arm, "So annoying."

Huddled together like this watching a horror movie, it was as if time had returned to two years ago. Except back then, Miao Jiayan always let Chen Chao lean on him. Now, Miao Jiayan sat alone at the very edge of the bed, far away from them.

Chen Chao glanced at him a few times during the movie, but Miao Jiayan never looked back. Ding Wentao was so scared he huddled next to Chen Chao, burying his face against him whenever a tense scene came up.

Miao Jiayan let out a quiet yawn, then widened his eyes, forcing himself to stay awake.

"Sleepy?" Chen Chao asked.

Miao Jiayan replied, "I'm okay."

"If you're sleepy, just sleep." Chen Chao tossed a pillow over.

"Not sleepy," Miao Jiayan said.

Later, Miao Jiayan fell asleep sitting up, hugging Chen Chao's pillow. His face was pressed against the pillow, sleeping soundly, looking completely defenseless.

After finishing the horror movie, Chen Chao and Ding Wentao put on a comedy. It's unknown when the two of them fell asleep. The noisy comedy played itself out, and then everything fell silent, leaving only the steady breathing of Miao Jiayan and Chen Chao, and Ding Wentao's snores.

Chen Chao's small bed was truly having a hard time fitting three high school students.

In winter, the sky brightened late. For the New Year, all the families' roosters had been killed for meat, so there was no crowing in the morning.

By the time the sky was fully bright, it was already past eight o'clock. Downstairs, however, had long since become lively. Grandpa Chen and Grandma Chen had already finished breakfast, and Youngest Uncle and the younger brother were up too.

Miao Jiayan, having fallen asleep first last night and leaning against the wall, took up the most space, lying on his side against the wall with most of his body on the bed. Chen Chao was tall and a muddled sleeper; his body from the knees down was still dangling towards the floor, and his head was resting against Miao Jiayan's shoulder. Ding Wentao had it the worst. Miao Jiayan had taken up a third of the small bed vertically, and Chen Chao had taken up two-thirds of the remaining space diagonally, leaving the chubby guy with only two-ninths of the bed, curled up with difficulty in a twisted position.

Miao Jiayan was the first to wake up. He was woken by the cold, half of his leg frozen solid. He had unknowingly pulled the blanket over to cushion his back; with the wall on the other side, it wasn't too cold, but unfortunately the blanket only covered half of his body, otherwise he probably could have slept a while longer. Miao Jiayan wanted to sit up, but when he moved, he couldn't—his hair was pinned.

He was still groggy when he first opened his eyes, but now, looking at Chen Chao's hair right in front of him, Miao Jiayan realized they were far too close.

Chen Chao must have been cold in his sleep. His head was nestled against Miao Jiayan, pillowed in the space between his arm and chest. Miao Jiayan was wearing fleece pajamas, so it was especially warm pressed up against him like this. Miao Jiayan looked at Chen Chao, then raised his head to look at Ding Wentao. The two of them had gone to bed late and were still not awake.

The first day of the Lunar New Year, a new beginning for the year.

Miao Jiayan's back and legs were frozen cold, yet he didn't get up, nor did he change his position.

He closed his eyes again, breathing softly. There were no complicated thoughts in his mind; he just felt that this moment was precious, something that might never happen again. His whole body was cold, except for the spot on his chest, which was being warmed by Chen Chao's even, steady breaths.

This brief reunion and closeness, like a memory, felt like a gentle gift from time to a simple and sincere child.

Outside, a family was setting off Spring Festival firecrackers, welcoming the new year on its first day.

Miao Jiayan thought to himself, this will definitely be a lucky year.

When Chen Chao opened his eyes, Miao Jiayan was already up. He had gone back to change his clothes, washed up, and tied his hair back. As Chen Chao came downstairs, he saw Miao Jiayan carrying a large iron bucket into the yard.

Chen Chao called out to him with an "Hey," asking, "What are you doing?"

Miao Jiayan gave him a brilliant smile, his eyes curving, and said, "Did you take your medicine? Are you still feeling unwell?"

"Not really feeling unwell anymore, I'm not taking it," Chen Chao said.

"Are you hungry then?" Miao Jiayan asked again.

"Starving." Chen Chao rubbed his stomach. He had barely eaten anything yesterday and was about to collapse from hunger now.

"Then wait for me," Miao Jiayan said, pushing away a stray lock of hair with the back of his hand. He rolled his sleeves up to his elbows and moved the large bucket to the side of the yard. "It'll be quick."

Miao Jiayan's iron bucket was heavy; half of it was filled with dry mud. Chen Chao couldn't figure out what he was doing, only seeing Miao Jiayan go back and forth, grabbing this and that to start a fire.

"Do you think I'm rustic again?" Miao Jiayan asked, squatting in front of the bucket and looking up at Chen Chao with a smile.

Chen Chao just smiled and didn't say anything.

Miao Jiayan turned back and said to himself, "You always think I'm rustic. So what if I'm rustic."

"Not later on," Chen Chao said, flicking him on the head. "After a while, I got used to it and couldn't tell anymore."

"You just stopped saying it out loud later," Miao Jiayan exposed him, "but it was obvious from your expression."

Chen Chao raised an eyebrow and asked, "When?"

Miao Jiayan said, "When I was gnawing on a persimmon and the juice squirted out."

Chen Chao burst out laughing.

For some reason, Chen Chao felt that the Miao Jiayan of today was different from the him of the past few days.

Today, he was more like that countryside kid from before.

Chen Chao wanted to pat his head, but his hand stayed in his pocket. Instead, he just squatted down with him and said, "You're not rustic."

Miao Jiayan's hands were covered in ash, so he could only use the back of his hand to brush away his stray hair. It was clear he was very happy today.

"You don't like boiled dumplings. There's leftover filling from yesterday, so I'll make you a flatbread." Miao Jiayan got the fire started, stuffing wood strips and charcoal blocks into the small hole at the bottom of the iron bucket, then stood up. "It'll be quick!"

Chen Chao asked, "Need my help with anything?"

"No need, you wouldn't know how," Miao Jiayan said as he went into the kitchen, calling out, "Just help me watch the fire and make sure it doesn't go out."

The iron bucket was something Grandpa Miao had made for Miao Jiayan for fun one summer when he had nothing to do. The two of them, grandfather and grandson, saw people on TV eating flatbread, so Grandpa Miao made a homemade oven for flatbread for Miao Jiayan.

The grandfather and grandson were incredibly fond of the old iron bucket. They stopped eating steamed buns and dumplings properly, insisting on sticking them inside the oven to bake until they were hard as a rock before eating. Grandma Miao found the two of them annoying and later stopped making the buns and dumplings for them. She would just prepare the dough and filling, put it aside, and let the two of them mess around with making their own flatbreads.

All the skills Miao Jiayan had accumulated over the summer came in handy now. In no time, he came out of the kitchen carrying a large woven tray, on which were several thin, filled flatbreads, sprinkled with sesame seeds.

"Don't burn yourself." Chen Chao watched as Miao Jiayan reached in to stick the flatbreads to the side, constantly worried his wrist would touch the edge of the bucket.

"I won't, it's fine." After sticking all of them on, Miao Jiayan put the woven tray aside, squatted down, and propped his chin on his hands, saying, "You'll definitely love this. You like eating crunchy things."

Chen Chao didn't speak. Miao Jiayan added, "Grandpa said before that this oven wasn't good anymore, that he was going to throw it out and make a new one next year."

"Good thing I didn't let him," Miao Jiayan said, turning to look at Chen Chao with a smile. "See? It's come in handy now, hasn't it?"