15: For the Little Prince

Most of Yu Yue’s belongings were in the house in B City. He flew back to B City, first went to the school to complete some procedures, and then planned to return home to pack his things.

Xu Yuanzhe’s rented apartment was very close to Yu Yue’s school, just a ten-minute walk away. It was a narrow building hidden in a residential area. Yu Yue held the key, slowly ascended the stairs, and as he turned the key to unlock the door, his palms were sweaty, and his heart raced.

But upon opening the door, the house was empty. Yu Yue stood at the entrance for a long time, then realized that he had intentionally chosen a time when Xu Yuanzhe would be at school or working part-time, so it was unlikely he would encounter him.

He closed the door, changed into his own slippers, and started packing his things. He had brought a suitcase with him.

Yu Yue started with the bedroom, opened the closet, took down his clothes from beside Xu Yuanzhe’s, folded them neatly, and put them in the suitcase. He removed all his personal items, anything he wanted to throw away went into a bag, and items he intended to continue using were packed into the suitcase.

As he cleared items from the closet to the desk, Yu Yue noticed many photos of him and Xu Yuanzhe together on the desk. He hesitated for a moment, thinking of taking these photos too, but then realized they weren’t really his belongings and decided to leave them.

On the windowsill, there was a guitar that belonged to Xu Yuanzhe. After Yu Yue took away his own belongings, he felt that the room was much emptier. He wasn’t sure how Xu Yuanzhe would feel when he saw this, but Yu Yue believed that if he came home one day and found that Xu Yuanzhe had taken everything away, he might not be able to bear it.

So, he was relieved that he wasn’t the one facing all this.

In the bathroom, Yu Yue also took away any toiletries he had used. Now, the two cups that had been close together were reduced to just one, sitting there all alone. As for shower gel and shampoo, they were shared by both of them, so there was no need to take them.

The house was very small, but as Yu Yue started cleaning up, he realized that in such a small space, there were so many memories, like hidden treasures.

It was like going on a treasure hunt.

In every corner, Yu Yue could discover some forgotten treasures, like finding a hair tie in the corner of the sofa, which was undoubtedly Xu Yuanzhe’s. They used to play around on the sofa, and Yu Yue often liked to pull off Xu Yuanzhe’s hair tie, so they would often end up lost.

Or some sticky notes left in the corners, with Xu Yuanzhe’s elegant handwriting that said things like, “Bought shrimp today, waiting for me to come back to cook it in the evening, there’s eggplant hotpot in the fridge, just heat it up and you can eat.”

Yu Yue picked up these neglected sticky notes and put them in his pocket.

The fridge was nearly empty. Yu Yue remembered that it used to be full just a short while ago. After he left City B, it seemed that no fresh vegetables had been added to the fridge, and it remained in the same empty state as when he left.

In the trash can, there was an instant noodle box. Yu Yue looked at the noodle box and remembered that a long time ago, after Xu Yuanzhe treated him to steak, they had eaten instant noodles and steamed buns for nearly a whole month. It was probably because they had consumed too many instant noodles.

Xu Yuanzhe had been to the hospital due to acute gastritis and nearly needed surgery.

Seeing the empty fridge, Yu Yue stared at it for a long time. Eventually, he decided to go to the nearest supermarket to buy a bunch of fresh groceries, including meat, eggs, vegetables, bread, and milk. He filled the fridge to the brim and tore off a sticky note, which he attached to the fridge with a message: “Eat fewer instant noodles and have proper meals.”

After writing that, Yu Yue inexplicably teared up, feeling like he was being overly sentimental.

In a corner of the kitchen, there was an oven. Yu Yue gazed at it for a long time. In the end, he took out another sticky note and wrote down a few simple cake recipes, including temperature and time instructions, which he then attached to the oven. These recipes were easy to follow, requiring minimal technical skill, and as long as the time and temperature were accurate, they could produce perfect results.

After almost finishing tidying up, Yu Yue sat on the sofa for a long time. He looked at the TV in front of him, wondering if it would play different movies in the future, and whether Xu Yuanzhe would sit here with someone else to watch movies. But regardless of the future, it was Xu Yuanzhe who had let go first, and Yu Yue had no right to hold onto him.

He should have been the proud Little Prince, living a heavenly life, but he had spent two years walking hand in hand with Xu Yuanzhe in the earthly trials. Yu Yue had no regrets, but Xu Yuanzhe did.

Yu Yue didn’t know if Xu Yuanzhe no longer liked him, was tired, or wanted to send him back to the celestial realm. Yu Yue only knew that when he was still passionate, Xu Yuanzhe had already cooled down.

It was nearing noon. Yu Yue sat on the sofa for a long time. Before leaving, he took out a pen and wrote one final sentence on a sticky note: “Wishing you happiness every day.” He tore it off and stuck it on the coffee table.

Underneath the coffee table, there was a basket. Yu Yue glanced at it and saw that it contained his miscellaneous items. So, he emptied the contents of the basket into his luggage.

When Yu Yue left the house, he didn’t encounter Xu Yuanzhe or any neighbors, which he considered fortunate. He couldn’t imagine how he would explain the situation if they had crossed paths.

Yu Yue left B City this way. In less than a few days, he took a flight abroad, planning to stay at Yu Jingnian’s overseas home for a while. He would then take his time choosing a school for the field of study he wanted to pursue.

Yu Jingnian wasn’t currently abroad, so the villa was empty with only Yu Yue living there. Yu Yue didn’t have many belongings, and it took him just a day to pack his things.

As he nearly finished packing his luggage, he noticed a pile of miscellaneous items he brought from B City, including the items he took out from the basket under the coffee table in that house.

Yu Yue went through each item, most of which were small personal belongings, such as pens he bought on a whim, or some useless little nightlights, and a few stickers. However, as he kept digging through the items, Yu Yue found a somewhat unfamiliar notebook.

It was a thick notebook with a green cover adorned with golden edges. Yu Yue felt puzzled as he suspected this wasn’t his item. Opening the notebook and glancing at a random page, he realized he had picked up the wrong thing.

This notebook belonged to Xu Yuanzhe, and it had Xu Yuanzhe’s handwriting. Yu Yue hadn’t intended to read its content, but he couldn’t help himself and flipped through the pages. He soon realized the notebook was filled with writings.

He had taken the wrong item.

Staring at it, Yu Yue found himself drawn to the first page. To his surprise, the first page read:

“—For my Little Prince.”

His vision blurred, and his eyes teared up involuntarily.

Turning more pages, he discovered it was a diary. The entries dated back to exactly five years ago, to the day they first met.

“—July 14, 2013, clear weather.

I was working at a barbecue restaurant, and in the evening, a group of students arrived.

That’s when I first saw Yu Yue.

He looked like a Little Prince, sitting in the light with an adorable smile on his face.

It was love at first sight for me.”

The diary continued, filled with Xu Yuanzhe’s five-year journey.