Yan Chen stood frozen in the center of the living room, his hands and feet ice-cold.

Until he heard a very soft movement at the door, he turned around and saw An Yi entering with a plastic bag.

His eyelids instantly filled with tears.

An Yi didn’t even look at him, but went straight to the kitchen with the things in hand. The kitchen was open-plan, with pots, pans, and bowls all new and unused. An Yi skillfully chopped vegetables and prepared ingredients, heating oil in a pan. In no time, this small space became a bustling little world.

The aroma wafted through the air.

Yan Chen sat behind the kitchen island with his arm suspended, feeling a bit of warmth returning to his limbs, but his eye sockets were still red.

He was unusually quiet, and amidst the bustling kitchen, he saw many nights and days that he had missed in the past few years.

At that time, An Yi must have been as busy as he was now, carrying a lot of love and expectations, quietly waiting until late at night, until the food turned cold, until hope was dashed.

Yan Chen lowered his head and saw his fingertips trembling.

He took a deep breath.

A bowl of fragrant tomato and egg noodles was placed in front of him. He raised his head, and the steam from the noodles made his eyes watery.

“Make do with this,” An Yi placed a medicine box beside him, “I’m leaving.”

Yan Chen wanted to hold his hand, but An Yi retreated, not giving him any chance to speak, and walked away without looking back.

This time, he truly left.

As the door closed, Yan Chen was immediately engulfed by a sense of powerless fear and anxiety.

Last time, An Yi had ordered a bowl of congee for him and then silently moved out of his life with the kitten.

It took him more than a year of effort to establish the Art Bank before he could re-enter An Yi’s world without feeling abrupt.

But what about this time?

If An Yi were to leave again, what would he do?

Yan Chen dared not imagine.

He hurriedly opened the door and ran down the stairs from the stairwell without waiting for the elevator, chasing after An Yi to the gate of the community. “An Yi—!”

The late-night street was silent, and no one responded to his call.

Their relationship was so fragile now that a single turn could make him disappear without a trace.

Yan Chen didn’t want to lose him again.

On the day An Yi went to Ling’an, Yan Chen drove directly to the highway intersection. The powerful and domineering Wrangler directly parked Xie Nancang’s Mercedes-Benz on the side of the road.

Xie Nancang opened his hazard lights and lowered the car window, displeased. “What do you want to do?”

Ignoring him, Yan Chen bypassed the front of the car and knocked on the passenger side window.

Xie Nancang rested his hand on the gear lever and motioned for An Yi to sit properly. “I’ll reverse and go around.”

“Wait a moment,” An Yi sighed, lowered the window, and looked at Yan Chen. “What’s the matter?”

Yan Chen leaned against the roof of the car, slightly bowed, and looked into his eyes. “Come back with me to Xichuan.”

An Yi frowned.

“I have something important to tell you. Come with me, and I promise that if you still disagree after we return to Xichuan, I…” Yan Chen paused, mustering the courage for his final gamble. “I won’t appear in front of you again.”

An Yi was touched by the sincerity in his eyes for a moment.

Seeing his hesitation, Xie Nancang called him disapprovingly, “An An.”

An Yi remained silent for two seconds before saying to Yan Chen, “Okay, I’ll go with you. I hope you remember what you just said and stick to it.”

Yan Chen nodded. “It’s a deal.”

“An An,” Xie Nancang seemed to see through him, raised the window to block Yan Chen’s line of sight, and said softly, “If you go with him, will you come back?”

An Yi smiled at him. “Of course, I still have things to learn from Grandpa.”

Xie Nancang remained deeply skeptical.

An Yi smiled wistfully. “I know what I’m doing. Don’t worry.” He had thought deeply about it over the past two years. Life wasn’t just about love; he had many important things to pursue, and he wouldn’t fall for the same person a third time.

An Yi got out of the car, said goodbye to Xie Nancang, and then opened the driver’s door of the Wrangler, stepped in with his long legs, and started the car. He glanced down at Yan Chen standing outside the car and said, “Sit on that side.”

Yan Chen obediently sat in the passenger seat, struggling to fasten the seatbelt with just one arm.

That afternoon, the two of them flew back to Xichuan on a single plane ticket.

An Yi bought a bouquet of flowers to visit An Ya at the cemetery, and Yan Chen followed along without objection.

After all, An Ya had liked him a lot before she passed away, and even though Yan Chen had treated him badly, his kindness to An Ya was genuine.

They stood side by side in front of the tombstone for a while, and An Yi touched the tombstone before turning to Yan Chen. “Speak up. What’s so important that you had to come back here to say it?”

Yan Chen said, “Let’s go eat first. I’ve booked a table at that Italian restaurant you used to love.”

“You’re mistaken,” An Yi said. “I never liked it. I only went with you before because you liked the Italian ham there.”

Yan Chen’s face stiffened slightly.

An Yi’s eyes, tinged with the spring sun, turned into a beautiful light brown. “Go ahead.”

“…Come with me.” Yan Chen led him out of the cemetery towards a nearby bus stop.

An Yi raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Take the bus?”

Yan Chen nodded. Taking the bus would give them more time together.

An Yi stood two steps away from him, quietly waiting for the bus.

Two buses passed by, and Yan Chen looked at the next one approaching from a distance. “This one.”

An Yi furrowed his brows. This bus… passed by Fengjia Garden, his previous home.

He followed Yan Chen onto the bus. It wasn’t crowded inside, so he chose a window seat and looked outside. Yan Chen sat in the row behind him on the right side, quietly gazing at his back.

The bus gradually entered the bustling downtown area, passing by the school An Yi had attended and the route he used to take home from school, finally stopping at the station where his youthful memories came to a sudden halt at Fengjia Garden.

A pair of reddened eyes reflected on the window.

“Ge, let’s go,” Yan Chen called to him.

An Yi blinked, tears welling up in his eyes, and got up to leave.

Fengjia Garden implemented a visitor registration system, but Yan Chen used his access card to bring An Yi into the community directly.

He turned to An Yi. “You should be more familiar with this place. Lead the way, ge.”

An Yi clenched his jaw. “Why did you bring me here?”

“Let’s go home first.”

Yan Chen gestured for him to go ahead, and An Yi stepped through the community courtyard garden. A new children’s play area had been built beside it, and children were screaming and laughing on the slides and swings. An Yi seemed to hear his mother calling his name from the front yard of their house, and he couldn’t help but quicken his pace.

He saw the small villa with its warm yellow exterior paint from afar, and his eyes widened in surprise.

The once deserted lawn had come to life, vibrant green under the spring sunshine. As he approached, he noticed not only the exterior walls and lawn but also the dilapidated rusty bench under the porch had been replaced with a brand-new one. In the yard, a sturdy pomegranate tree, seemingly planted by him and his mother more than a decade ago, peacefully stretched its branches in the spring breeze, budding and blooming.

Tears welled up in An Yi’s eyes as he stood at the door.

Yan Chen took his hand and placed a key in his palm. “Welcome home.”

Tears streamed down An Yi’s face. He turned to Yan Chen. “What did you say?”

Yan Chen led him to the door, and An Yi’s palm was sore from the jagged edges of the key. His fingers trembled as he struggled several times to find the keyhole. With a click, the door opened, and he finally stepped into the house he had left at the age of 18.

As he walked through the front yard, he stood at the door, feeling a mix of complex emotions—nervousness outweighing excitement, and even a hint of indescribable panic.

He collected himself, opened the door, and the sunlight illuminated the bright floor, shining into his eyes first.

The spacious living room, dining room, and lounge, as far as the eye could see, were all furnished in familiar ways.

It was as if he had never left.

An Yi walked up and down the stairs, touching every picture frame hanging beside the staircase. Finally, he walked to the dining table, where a vase containing several fresh white roses stood.

Yan Chen walked up to him and said softly, “I’ve been wanting to bring you here, but we only just finished renovating recently.”

An Yi’s eyelashes trembled, and he pulled out a chair and sat down.

He used to always sit here, with his mother sitting to his right, his father opposite, his grandfather in the main seat, and An Ya in her own children’s chair. They would watch TV, chat, and eat together, harmoniously.

But it was all in the past now.

Sitting here, the people sitting at the dining table will never come back.

An Yi covered his face and rubbed it hard.

Yan Chen stood silently on the side, giving him time to calm down.

After a while, An Yi took a deep breath and lowered his hand, his eyes red from crying, looking at Yan Chen. “How did you know about the layout of my house before?”

“I asked many of your neighbors and relatives,” Yan Chen answered truthfully, “and found many old photos in the basement. This house was foreclosed after being mortgaged to Xu Jin. After he went to prison, the house went through foreclosure, but the owner never came to live here, so those photos were piled up in the basement. Do you want to go take a look?”

An Yi shook his head and looked at Yan Chen across from him. “Sit.”

Yan Chen pulled out a chair, sat opposite him in the sunlight, leaned forward, and held An Yi’s cold hand, his eyes full of infinite tenderness.

“An Yi, I know we can’t change the past, but I want to do my best to make amends. I know you’re someone who cherishes family deeply. I bought this house for you, sincerely wanting to give you a home. Let me be your family from now on.”

“Can we start over?”

An Yi looked down quietly at their intertwined fingers, feeling something stir inside him.

Yan Chen was the first person he had ever loved, and when he was young, he didn’t understand subtlety or restraint; he wanted to give his heart to him openly. But now he was no longer young, and he wouldn’t blindly sacrifice himself for love anymore.

Even if Yan Chen really turned over a new leaf and was willing to exchange sincerity for sincerity, An Yi couldn’t muster the courage to gamble on the longevity of that sincerity, considering the injuries and disappointments he had truly suffered, each one clearly etched into the insides of his arms. He didn’t want to repeat the same mistakes.

“Yan Chen, I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for me,” An Yi spoke up.

Yan Chen’s eyes flickered, as if he had anticipated what An Yi was going to say next. He tightened his grip on An Yi’s fingertips. “I don’t want your gratitude.”

“I know you’ve been working hard on the Art Bank for the past two years, and doing all of this may have been your way of paving the way for me. Regardless, I thank you.” An Yi slowly and firmly withdrew his hand. “But we can’t go back.”

Yan Chen stared at his face intently, as if trying to find a crack in his calm demeanor.

But he couldn’t find one.

This time, An Yi was genuinely calm, without a trace of resentment or blame.

“To be honest, I used to blame you before coming here,” An Yi smiled slowly, tears welling up in his eyes. His voice suddenly became very soft, as if a huge stone that had been weighing on his heart for years had been gently lifted. He said, “But now I don’t.”

Yan Chen forced a smile, but his reddened, teary eyes betrayed his emotions.

He hurriedly lowered his head.

Then he heard An Yi say, “Let’s forget about the past. I don’t blame you or hold any grudges against you anymore. Whether it’s Xiao Ya or me, we sincerely hope you’ll be okay. Let’s just consider each other as familiar strangers from now on.”

An Yi stood up and put the key in his pocket.

“I’ll handle the paperwork for the transfer in the next couple of days. I’ll transfer the money for buying the house and the renovations to you later,” he said. “Qi Wenxing told me your family cut off your source of income. You must have gone through a lot to buy this house, so I’ll also compensate you for that.”

Yan Chen kept his head very low, and An Yi saw a small protruding vertebra on the back of his neck, reminding him of the time he was a teenager when he used to sneak past the first year classroom window, seeing the scene of a young boy in school uniform lying drowsily on the desk, asleep.

That small piece of bone protruded in the same way.

An Yi withdrew my gaze and whispered, “Let’s go.”

Yan Chen remained motionless for a long time.

An Yi didn’t want to wait for him any longer. As he lifted his foot to walk to the door, he heard Yan Chen suddenly say to him, “But you made noodles for me to eat.”

His voice choked with a hint of unwillingness and grievance, as if accusing him of why he had given a glimmer of hope but refused to give him more love.

An Yi didn’t respond, leaving only a “Lock the door” before leaving.

Yan Chen sat alone in the empty dining room, taking a long time to understand.

That bowl of noodles was just the softness and kindness rooted in An Yi’s character. He was like the little orange cat from years ago; a little rain was enough to earn An Yi’s attention.

It had nothing to do with love, or even with him.

Even if it was another stray cat, An Yi would still hold an umbrella for it.