After sticking the flatbreads inside, Miao Jiayan took a huge glove out of his pocket and put it on. It was a pink, flower-covered oven mitt.

Miao Jiayan reached in to flip the flatbread.

His slender arm looked even more delicate against the rim of the barrel and the large glove, the faint blue veins on his inner arm showing through. Chen Chao said, "I'm always worried you'll burn your arm."

"I won't!" Miao Jiayan deftly finished flipping the flatbread, pulled his hand out, patted the glove, and asked, "Is this glove tacky?"

Chen Chao replied, "It's the most fashionable thing on you right now."

"Hahaha," Miao Jiayan said in agreement, "I think so too. I've seen other people wear these kinds of gloves to bake little cakes."

Other people wore baking gloves for an oven; Miao Jiayan wore one to reach into a stove and flip flatbread.

It was unclear why he was so happy today, but he had become much more talkative.

Chen Chao squatted by the stove, eating a flatbread. Miao Jiayan asked him, "Brother Chao, are you tired at school?"

"It's alright," Chen Chao hissed, the flatbread being so hot. A warm, white puff of air escaped his mouth and dissipated into the air, looking very warm. "High school is the same everywhere."

Miao Jiayan nodded.

Chen Chao asked him, "What about you? Can you keep up with your studies?"

"I can," Miao Jiayan answered quite confidently, without much modesty. Then he added, "But it's a little tiring. I don't know if I'll be able to keep up in my second and third years."

"As long as you do your best, that's enough." Chen Chao blew on the flatbread as he bit into it, turning it. The outside was crispy, the meat filling inside fragrant, and the outermost layer of sesame seeds was slightly toasted, giving off a charred aroma.

Miao Jiayan took another one out of the stove, placed it on a nearby mat, and said, "Let it cool for a bit, then it won't be so hot."

Chen Chao hadn't eaten anything yesterday, so eating the steaming hot, crispy flatbread now brought him a great sense of satisfaction.

Miao Jiayan asked him again, "Brother Chao, do you have a lot of friends now?"

The question made Chen Chao laugh. "What do you think?"

"I don't know," Miao Jiayan answered honestly. "I can't really say."

Chen Chao glanced at him, then went back to eating his flatbread. "I have a few friends, but not many."

Miao Jiayan was like a curious child, asking questions about Chen Chao's current life and his school.

Chen Chao wasn't impatient. He answered whatever Miao Jiayan asked, not finding his questions bothersome.

Miao Jiayan also took a flatbread, nibbling at it with both hands. He looked at Chen Chao and asked, "So, are you dating anyone?"

Chen Chao looked at him. Miao Jiayan met his gaze naturally, his expression simple and without any ulterior meaning.

"No, where would I find the time," Chen Chao replied.

Miao Jiayan smiled and took a bite of his flatbread, crispy crumbs falling to the ground. "A lot of students in my class are dating," Miao Jiayan said.

"You want to date too?" Chen Chao raised an eyebrow, deliberately teasing him.

"I don't want to," Miao Jiayan said, shaking his head. "Not in the slightest."

"Then just focus on your studies," Chen Chao said.

Miao Jiayan nodded. "Mm," he said. "I'll remember that."

By the time Ding Wentao came downstairs yawning, the flatbreads were almost gone, with only two left.

"You two are having a private feast!" Ding Wentao pointed at them. "You didn't wake me up! Just squatting here and eating by yourselves!"

Chen Chao picked up one of the two remaining flatbreads, took a bite, and said, "We did call you, but you didn't get up."

"Impossible! Don't lie, you two were just having a private feast." Ding Wentao came over and picked up the last one. "Are there any more?"

Miao Jiayan shook his head. "That's all. There's no more filling."

They had been squatting for so long that Chen Chao's legs were a bit stiff. He stood up and offered his hand to Miao Jiayan, who took it and let himself be pulled up. Chen Chao stomped his legs and said to Miao Jiayan, "I want to eat this again tonight."

"Okay." Miao Jiayan folded the glove and tucked it back into his pocket. "Then we'll just leave the stove here for now."

Yesterday was New Year's Eve, and Miao Jiayan wasn't home from morning till night. He had only returned in the morning to grab the iron bucket before leaving again.

Surprisingly, however, Miao Jian didn't give him any trouble. When he saw him during the day, he didn't say much, just glanced at him twice without opening his mouth.

Miao Jiayan walked along the edge of the wall, taking a long detour to avoid his father.

Miao Jian had been surprisingly tolerant of Miao Jiayan since his return this year. Aside from that one morning when he showed signs of losing his temper, which Grandma had suppressed, he hadn't really said much to him.

Miao Jian left on the second day of the new year to go to Miao Jiayan's maternal grandmother's home. In other words, Miao Jiayan had basically gotten through the New Year holiday unscathed.

Grandma Miao also let out a sigh of relief and whispered to Miao Jiayan, "You've really matured this year."

Miao Jiayan whispered back. Whenever the house was full of people, he and Grandma Miao always spoke as if they were sharing secrets. "You shouldn't always glare at him."

"He's annoying, so why shouldn't I glare at him?" Grandma Miao said, still sounding angry. "He wasn't this detestable when he was a child."

Miao Jiayan said with a smile, "But he's your son."

"I don't want a son, having a grandson is enough for me." Grandma Miao, holding something in one hand, used her free hand to pull Miao Jiayan into a brief hug. He was already much taller than her. He patted her on the back and said, "After everyone leaves, you need to rest for a few days. It's been very tiring."

"Tell me about it. What's the point of them coming back? It's just tiring," Grandma Miao grumbled under her breath. "I even have to serve them."

Miao Jiayan didn't sneak out that day and stayed with his grandmother in the kitchen. In the afternoon, while she cooked, Miao Jiayan chopped filling in a small corner.

The scallions and ginger were boiled in water to extract some of their flavor, so no minced scallion or ginger was added to the filling.

He knew how to mix the filling, but he really didn't know how to knead dough. In the end, he had to ask his grandmother for help, and she kneaded a ball of dough for him.

"Look at this treatment..." Before dinner, Chen Guangda glanced at Chen Chao squatting outside eating a flatbread and remarked, "He's living better than I did back in my day. He even has a little brother who comes to his house to make flatbreads for him. I never had this kind of service, even when I was ruling the roost."

"You can't compare to him," Grandpa Chen said, hammering away at a stool leg. "When you were young, you and your gang of good-for-nothings only knew how to fight."

"What do you mean, good-for-nothings?" Chen Guangda protested with a huff. "Weren't my grades pretty good too?"

His youngest uncle mercilessly exposed him from the side, "You copied all of it."

Whatever was being said in the room was inaudible outside. All Chen Chao knew was to eat his flatbread.

In his current state, he didn't look a bit like a high school student from the city. Squatting in front of the stove, his entire demeanor harmonized perfectly with the courtyard.

Miao Jiayan laughed at him. Chen Chao raised an eyebrow and said, "I've noticed you're a lot bolder than you used to be."

"That's because you're leaving soon, so you won't get mad no matter what I say," Miao Jiayan said with his head lowered, a slight smile on his face.

A year and a half wasn't a particularly long time, but the young boys had still grown up quite a bit. The last time Chen Chao left, Miao Jiayan had cried in front of him, but this time, he absolutely couldn't do that again.

Every day, Miao Jiayan happily hovered around Chen Chao, his eyes always curved into a smile.

The last time he cried because he was afraid of him leaving; this time he was happy because he had never expected him to return in the first place.

Miao Jiayan was not a greedy child; he had never wanted much.

On the day Chen Chao was actually leaving, Miao Jiayan came to see him off.

Chen Chao only had one bag; there wasn't much to pack.

Miao Jiayan didn't say much, just quietly stayed by his side. He must have washed his hair that morning, as it looked a bit messy draped over his shoulders.

"Will you come back next year?" Miao Jiayan asked.

"I don't know yet," Chen Chao said, zipping up his backpack. "It's not set in stone."

"Okay." Miao Jiayan nodded.

"Next time I come back, are you still not going to talk to me?" Chen Chao asked, ruffling his hair messily.

Miao Jiayan hurriedly said, "I won't. This time I didn't dare to. Next time, I'll talk properly."

Chen Chao smiled. Miao Jiayan didn't say why he hadn't dared to, and Chen Chao didn't ask.

Miao Jiayan walked Chen Chao all the way to the car, which was quite a long distance.

Every time Chen Chao looked back, Miao Jiayan would look up at him, his gaze frank and simple.

"Do you know my phone number?" Chen Chao asked.

'I can recite it from memory,' Miao Jiayan thought.

"I sent it to your phone before, I don't know if you got it. I'll send it to you again in a moment." Chen Chao thought about Miao Jiayan's phone, which was never on, and said, "Go back and turn it on. Charge it."

"Okay," Miao Jiayan agreed.

"Alright, go on back," Chen Chao told him. "Call me if you need anything."

Miao Jiayan wanted to watch him get into the car before leaving, so he stood his ground.

Chen Guangda was already sitting in the car, watching the two of them with amusement.

Chen Chao lowered his head and sent a text message to Miao Jiayan with his phone. After it was sent successfully, he waved the phone at Miao Jiayan, then turned and got into the car.

Miao Jiayan watched them leave before slowly heading home.

After the New Year passed, all the relatives left, and the house suddenly felt empty.

Miao Jiayan took his phone out of a drawer and turned it on. Sure enough, after a few minutes, a text message came through—two of them, in fact.

The sender was displayed as "Chao."

—Reply when you turn it on.

—You just try calling me Chen Chao again next time.

Miao Jiayan hadn't expected him to send something like that. He first blinked in surprise, then a soft smile lit up his eyes.

He clutched the phone in his hand for a while, reading Chen Chao's two messages back and forth. After a few minutes, Miao Jiayan typed out a reply, hesitating for a moment before finally hitting send.

—Then when are you coming back?