The moment Xu Er stepped out of the company building, his phone displayed 2:34 AM Beijing time.

Not sleepy, just tired.

He looked up at the severely polluted sky, where he couldn’t see a single star—only a dim crescent moon hung there, faintly and lonely.

He wanted to see the sunrise.

This thought suddenly popped into his mind as he took his fifth step out of the building.

So let’s go see it.

Yes, right now.

With his sixth step, he calculated the route. The nearest mountain where he could see a good sunrise was 150 kilometers away from City A. He had the number of a car rental company, and today was Sunday, so he was off work.

Then, with his seventh step, he opened his phone and clicked on his contacts.

He paused for half a second on Colin’s phone number, remembering that this guy had just moved in with his girlfriend two weeks ago.

A bit further down the contact list was Chen Nan, but Xu Er didn’t call him either; Chen Nan was at his mom’s house this week.

Xu Er habitually tapped his phone twice. He’d just go by himself.

Though he hadn’t done it before, it wasn’t impossible. It seemed easier this way. Without much hesitation, he dialed the car rental company’s number, got the keys half an hour later, and was on the highway ten minutes after that.

The benefit of several nights spent staying up late rewriting drafts was that even though it was almost 3 AM now, he felt no drowsiness at all.

Over two hours later, Xu Er parked at the top of Qitian Mountain.

As he got out of the car, he scanned the area and noticed a few other vehicles parked here. This place wasn’t a tourist spot, and there wasn’t much to do, so Xu Er thought these people were probably here for the so-called sunrise, just like him.

Everything that followed went as Xu Er had anticipated. On this mountain with relatively clean air and less pollution, he captured the orange sun at 6:13 AM.

As the beautiful sun froze on Xu Er’s phone, he heard a voice coming from not too far away.

“Are you satisfied?”

“I’m exhausted. What’s the difference between this sun and any other? I came all this way for this.”

“What’s the difference? Tell me what’s different!”

“Can’t you see it at home?”

After those lines, Xu Er heard another male voice.

“Can’t.”

Just then, Xu Er locked his screen, and the black display reflected a fleeting smile on his face.

For some reason, it was quite amusing.

Yes, it really can’t be seen at home.

Xu Er turned to look in the direction of the voices, but unfortunately, all he saw were the backs of two figures.

The one in front wore a white T-shirt and beach shorts, with disheveled hair. Xu Er’s gaze lingered on him for just half a second before shifting to the one behind.

The person behind was dressed in all black: a black T-shirt, black long pants, and a black cap. He had long legs and a tall frame.

Naturally, Xu Er’s mind assigned the pleasing voice that said “can’t” to the man in black, and because of his handsome silhouette, he automatically imagined a vaguely attractive face.

That’s right; it was decided—a handsome guy should have a nice voice.

However, Xu Er couldn’t observe for long before the guy in front suddenly turned around, startling Xu Er into quickly averting his gaze.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the guy place his hand on the shoulder of the man in black, but he couldn’t hear what they were saying.

The return trip was even quicker; he returned the car, went home, took a shower, and fell asleep in an instant.

Then, at noon, he was awakened by a phone call.

For no particular reason, it was Chen Nan asking him to accompany him on a blind date.

“I really don’t understand where my mom finds so many friends. Why do I have to go on blind dates every time I come home?”

At the café over an hour later, Xu Er arrived just in time to hear Chen Nan complain about this.

The weather was unpredictable, and it was currently raining outside. Xu Er arrived a bit late, and the girl had already left.

Xu Er responded with a casual “Mm-hmm” to Chen Nan and said, “Latte.”

Chen Nan replied, “I already got you one.”

Xu Er asked, “How was it?”

“About the blind date?” Chen Nan sighed, “Not a chance.”

After that, he asked, “What’s up with your social circle? Why didn’t you take me to watch the sunrise this morning?” He poured water for Xu Er. “And you didn’t call Colin either? Went by yourself?”

“Yeah,” Xu Er yawned. “Colin probably wasn’t available since you were back home.”

Chen Nan pushed the water toward him. “I could’ve still been invited; if you’d called me, I wouldn’t have had to come for this blind date.”

Xu Er nodded repeatedly. “I’ll definitely do it next time.”

Chen Nan frowned slightly. “You don’t have anything on your mind, do you?”

Xu Er replied, “What could I possibly have on my mind?”

“True,” Chen Nan chuckled. “Your worries are just about drafts, clients, and more drafts.”

Xu Er picked up the water and then put it back down. “Now that you mention it, I suddenly have something on my mind.”

“You really do?” Chen Nan raised his chin. “Go on, let me help you out.”

Xu Er said, “Two concerns.”

Chen Nan got ready to listen intently.

Xu Er continued, “The left ventricle and the right ventricle.”

Chen Nan: “…”

Chen Nan: “…”

Chen Nan: “Your sudden humor really is something, something that…”

Clearly at a loss for words, Chen Nan could only chuckle a couple of times and picked up his coffee cup.

It was obvious that Xu Er didn’t have anything weighing on his mind, and Chen Nan understood Xu Er well. Watching the sunrise was surely just a spur-of-the-moment decision—he felt like going, so he went.

It wasn’t that he particularly loved sunrises or anything; he just enjoyed suddenly deciding to do something.

Like last month when he suddenly craved mango mille-feuille in the middle of the night, or when he wanted to see fireworks on the day of the beginning of summer, or how he went out to get soaked in the rain during the Dragon Boat Festival, or that one unknown morning when he felt like skipping stones.

Fortunately, Xu Er wasn’t a bother to anyone. He found a way to make all these spontaneous ideas happen before calling them up, asking, “Are you coming?”

It might seem a bit crazy, but it was actually endearing.

In the monotony of work life, who wouldn’t love a bit of impulsiveness that could be enjoyed right away?

“What are we doing next?”

As the latte was served, Xu Er asked Chen Nan.

After a moment of thought, Chen Nan replied, “How about a movie?” He then asked, “Or do you want to go back and catch up on sleep? Have you eaten yet?”

Xu Er didn’t mention going to the movies, catching up on sleep, or eating; he seemed to hesitate, remaining silent as he stared at something to his left.

Following Xu Er’s gaze, Chen Nan glanced over. “Who are you looking at?”

After a brief pause, Xu Er replied, “Song Ruichi.”

“Song Ruichi?” Chen Nan looked over again. “Is your brother here?”

Xu Er shook his head. “Not my brother.”

Chen Nan asked, “Then who isn’t your brother? The real Song Ruichi?”

Xu Er paused once more before saying, “I suspect it might be.”

Chen Nan was surprised. “Are you serious?”

Why was there such a conversation?

Xu Er’s cousin, Xu Chen, used the online name “Zexian Song Ruichi.”

Of course, anyone who saw that username would definitely ask, “Who is Song Ruichi?”

So, Xu Chen would quickly throw out several photos of Song Ruichi and ask, “Isn’t he handsome?”

After looking at the pictures, friends would always respond with, “Yeah, he is.”

Then, without missing a beat, Xu Chen would say, “Right? He’s as handsome as me.”

Generally speaking, Xu Chen is good-looking.

But after seeing the photos of Song Ruichi, it’s hard for friends not to reply, “Get lost; he’s way more handsome than you.”

According to Xu Chen, this Song Ruichi is somewhat well-known in certain circles; he does wood carvings, paints, and has a studio. He participates in various competitions and has won several awards—this and that.

As for which circle, no one asks; it’s probably just the artist community.

Chen Nan continued to search with his eyes. He was about to ask where Song Ruichi was when, in the next moment, he spotted him.

Not far away, by a potted plant and near the window, sat a man with curly hair in an inner seat.

Logically speaking, Xu Er and Chen Nan had only seen photos of Song Ruichi, so there was no way they could be certain that this was the same person they’d encounter in a café on a random afternoon.

But when the two of them met each other’s gaze, they surprisingly saw the same thought reflected in each other’s eyes: he seems like he is Song Ruichi.

Handsome is one thing, but the aura of that man was something you could sense at a glance, along with the artistic vibe surrounding him.

For a time, Xu Chen even had his hair styled in those same curls, but he quickly changed it back after just a couple of days. It could only be said that not everyone could pull off that hairstyle.

“What do you think?” Chen Nan spoke up first.

Xu Er asked, “What do you mean?”

Chen Nan replied, “Go get an autograph or something for your cousin. He’d probably go crazy over it.”

Xu Er thought for half a second. “That makes sense.”

Without hesitation, he stood up.

Xu Er, who usually struggled with social anxiety, suddenly standing up surprised Chen Nan.

Of course, Xu Er didn’t know what had gotten into him and didn’t question it. He just thought that if he could get Song Ruichi’s autograph to give to his cousin, that would be really cool.

So, without waiting for Chen Nan to react, he headed over.

Chen Nan quickly followed, and the two of them navigated around the low partition in the café, arriving in just a few steps.

To be honest, the suddenness of it all felt a bit awkward.

Xu Er was aware of this, so as soon as he stood there, he flashed a smile at the four pairs of curious eyes looking at him.

Oh, wait, not four—just two.

The person sitting closest to Song Ruichi didn’t look at Xu Er; he was staring down at his tablet, as if he hadn’t seen anything.

That worked, too.

At least half of the awkwardness was spared.

With Chen Nan behind him, Xu Er felt a bit braver. After all these years, there was no situation Chen Nan couldn’t handle when they were out together.

But at that moment, Chen Nan didn’t move.

Xu Er didn’t know what to do, so he could only smile awkwardly.

“Hello there.”

In the end, it was the other person who spoke first. The man who had initially locked eyes with Xu Er revealed a very friendly smile and tilted his head slightly. “Haven’t we met somewhere before?”

Xu Er was instantly puzzled and surprised. “Have we met?”

As he spoke, the person sitting closest finally made a move.

In that moment, Xu Er confirmed that he was indeed Song Ruichi.

Yep, he looked even better up close—handsomer than in the photos.

Song Ruichi’s movement was brief; he merely lifted his chin slightly and raised his eyelids to meet Xu Er’s gaze.

Then, in less than a second, he quickly lowered his eyes again.

But soon after, he lifted his head again.

This time, the gaze was clear and direct, as Song Ruichi turned his whole face toward Xu Er.

It was at that moment that Xu Er’s mind finally caught up to him: you came to get an autograph—where’s your paper? Where’s your pen?

“You look very familiar,” the man next to Song Ruichi continued. “Hey, handsome, I—”

Before he could finish, Song Ruichi placed a hand on his shoulder.

“What’s up?” Song Ruichi turned to Xu Er and asked, “Do you need something?”

Xu Er paused for a moment, finding the tone a bit familiar.

He couldn’t help but swallow hard. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something, so without thinking, he blurted out, “What are you drinking?”

As soon as he spoke, all four pairs of eyes landed on the untouched cup of coffee on the table.

“Latte,” Song Ruichi answered.

Xu Er replied, “Oh.”

At that moment, he heard a faint chuckle from Song Ruichi’s friend.

Song Ruichi asked, “Do you want some?”

Xu Er shook his head, “No, I’m good. I have some.”

“…”

What a mess.

Xu Er felt even more at a loss. “Um…”

He didn’t even know what to say, so he cast a pleading glance at Chen Nan.

Chen Nan glanced at Xu Er’s pocket, and Xu Er immediately received the signal. An idea suddenly struck him as he took out his phone and opened the notes app.

Right! An electronic signature!

It wasn’t out of the question.

“Exactly.”

Xu Er smiled again, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Song Ruichi, then handed over his phone.

Song Ruichi’s gaze shifted from Xu Er’s eyes to the phone.

Xu Er pushed it forward a bit more, saying, “I don’t know if it’s convenient for you.”

Just as Xu Er thought Song Ruichi would take the phone, he saw him lower his head instead.

He picked up his own phone from the table and quickly tapped a few times.

Since Xu Er was standing, he could see that Song Ruichi had opened the WeChat scan feature.

Song Ruichi then handed his phone over, and at that moment, his friend showed an expression of surprise.

Xu Er’s mind instantly exclaimed, “Oh!” He quickly swiped away the notes app and opened his WeChat QR code, handing it back.

“Beep.”

The clear sound rang out in the air.