At that moment, Liang Zhen didn’t know whether his unexpected visit today was right or wrong.

He bumped into Shao Mingyin bringing someone back.

Liang Zhen’s first reaction wasn’t to rush out, but to step back. However, there was nowhere to hide here. After a few steps back and forth, Shao Mingyin came upstairs and saw Liang Zhen standing at the door.

There was a hint of surprise in his eyes, as he hadn’t expected Liang Zhen to come today. He didn’t approach either. The two of them just stood there, looking at each other. Whether it was an illusion or the hallway was too dim, Liang Zhen seemed a bit flustered, even at a loss.

Shao Mingyin didn’t feel anything was wrong, smiling as he asked, “Why are you here today?”

Liang Zhen swallowed, about to speak, but then he saw another person coming up the stairs. Even though the person kept their head down and Liang Zhen couldn’t see their face clearly, judging by their height and build, they seemed younger than Liang Zhen, probably still a student.

The student followed behind Shao Mingyin, and upon seeing someone standing in front, without saying anything, they moved closer to Shao Mingyin, as if seeking some protection. Seeing this little gesture, Liang Zhen felt a surge of anger. With a tight throat, he blurted out, “Who’s he?”

Upon hearing Liang Zhen’s tone, Shao Mingyin’s smile faded. “Liang Zhen, what’s with your tone?”

Liang Zhen, hearing Shao Mingyin’s reprimand, immediately deflated. “You—”

Before he could finish, Shao Mingyin brushed past him and unlocked the door. The little student followed, and after opening the door, Shao Mingyin gestured for him to go in.

He just went in!

Liang Zhen stood still, turning his head to witness all this. Shao Mingyin had half of his body inside the house, his hand still on the doorknob. Both of them were not ones to yield easily, knowing that prolonging this was pointless, Shao Mingyin compromised first, asking Liang Zhen kindly, “Not coming in?”

Liang Zhen stiffened, but still dragged his feet over. He stared straight at Shao Mingyin, grabbed his wrist, and closed the door.

After a moment of contemplation, Liang Zhen spoke, and one could hear the restraint in his emotions. He asked again, “Who is he?”

“Caught a minor at the internet cafe today, no one came to sign for him to take him home.”

“No one signed for him, so you brought him to your own home?!”

“Liang Zhen!”

Already inexplicably irritated, Liang Zhen felt even more aggrieved and angry at Shao Mingyin’s stern use of his name. “Just because of him, you’re being harsh on me?”

“I…”

“Do you know how long I’ve been waiting? Today—”

“That kid isn’t bad, he just wants to get attention from his family, so he keeps going to the internet cafe hoping to be caught. Usually, it’s his father’s lawyer who comes to pick him up, but today when we called, his family said to keep him for a few more days to learn his lesson.”

Liang Zhen clearly couldn’t accept this explanation. “So you brought him here?”

Shao Mingyin was also impatient, his breath hotter than usual. “Yes, I’m just a rotten good person. I’m softhearted, just like I can’t stand seeing you hungry, I also can’t stand seeing him, a minor, sleeping on the concrete floor of the detention room.”

Liang Zhen seemed not to have heard, foolishly asking again, “So you brought him here?”

He asked, “You brought him to your home? He can actually come to your home that easily?”

“Where will he sleep? On that folding bed?”

Shao Mingyin blinked evasively, his voice lowered. “I didn’t expect you to come today.”

Liang Zhen became anxious but laughed again, “Damn, that’s my bed!”

“Who said that’s your bed!” Shao Mingyin retorted, ignoring the height difference and locking eyes with Liang Zhen. But the tension dissolved after a few seconds; Liang Zhen unilaterally declared defeat.

Liang Zhen, looking foolish, said, “So that’s not my bed…”

He forced a smile, “Someone else has also slept on that bed before, right?”

Shao Mingyin didn’t answer, but his attitude was undeniable.

“Okay, I got it,” Liang Zhen nodded, his cheeks twitching slightly from clenching his teeth, “Have you had dinner?”

“Ate outside.”

“With that person inside?”

Shao Mingyin didn’t answer, but Liang Zhen didn’t know when to stop, continuing to ask what they ate, whether it was noodles, instant noodles, or tomato and egg noodles.

“Or do you like the type inside?” Liang Zhen’s questions became more and more outrageous, “Young, clean-looking, quite dependent on you. Do you like that type?”

“Liang Zhen!” Shao Mingyin impatiently ran his hand through his hair, taking a step forward, which brought him very close to Liang Zhen. He forcefully lowered his voice, feeling Liang Zhen was being unreasonable, “Are you jealous of a kid?!”

Are you jealous of a kid?!

As soon as these words were uttered, even Shao Mingyin himself was stunned. Who was Liang Zhen to him that he used the word “jealous”? He immediately wanted to step back, to increase the distance between them, but Liang Zhen quickly grabbed his shoulder and pushed him against the door.

The action of Liang Zhen placing his palm next to Shao Mingyin made a loud noise, vehemently refusing any resistance.

Liang Zhen’s action of placing his hand beside Shao Mingyin made a loud noise, vehemently refusing any resistance.

But his arm couldn’t help trembling slightly. It seemed that if Shao Mingyin pushed him, even if he was unwilling, he would let go. When Shao Mingyin realized this and hesitated whether to push him away, he heard Liang Zhen’s particularly aggrieved question, “You also call him kid?”

At that moment, Shao Mingyin wanted to laugh. He truly found Liang Zhen’s petty demeanor inexplicably cute. But when he saw Liang Zhen looking so hurt like a child, he couldn’t bring herself to laugh.

Liang Zhen was on the verge of tears, daringly moving his hand down again, completely trapping the person within the space created by his arm. His forehead rested against Shao Mingyin’s, and his breath sprayed all over him.

Liang Zhen said, “I’m jealous.”

“Not only do you call him kid, but you also smile at him like that… Do you smile at everyone like that? Then what am I to you, Shao Mingyin? Am I just like anyone else in your eyes?”

“I…” Shao Mingyin was completely thrown off. He wanted to deny it, to say it wasn’t true, but those words would be too ambiguous. He couldn’t bring himself to say it for a moment. What exactly was his relationship with Liang Zhen that required him to say such things?

But Liang Zhen seemed more straightforward than him, more capable of saying it.

“Shao Mingyin, I’m burning with jealousy.”

…………

Xue Meng was originally sitting inside, hunched over with earphones in, looking particularly despondent. But when he saw signs of the door opening out of the corner of his eye, he immediately took off his earphones and stood up in the direction of the door. First came Shao Mingyin, followed by the young man with a tough and low-key aura whose name he didn’t know.

Seeing Shao Mingyin walking towards him, Xue Meng took off his earphones. He hadn’t paused his music, so if someone came close enough, they could hear what he was listening to. But before he could speak, Shao Mingyin’s phone rang. After checking the caller ID and saying something to Liang Zhen, he quickly went outside to answer the call. So in the room, it was just Xue Meng and Liang Zhen for a while.

Seeing Shao Mingyin leave, Xue Meng sat back on the small stool, still hunched over, with no energy in his neck as he leaned forward. He noticed the young man walking over, but they didn’t know each other, and Xue Meng could tell that the man didn’t have a favorable opinion of him. Since they couldn’t find common ground in conversation, Xue Meng decided to continue listening to music.

But before he could put his headphones back on, Liang Zhen, who was standing next to him, suddenly said, “You, wearing a Versace shirt with a dog head on it, what are you listening to, ‘Life’s Struggle’?”

Xue Meng’s hand froze for a moment, then he put down his earphones. He had been silent, not because he had a soft temper or a good disposition, on the contrary, he was in a rebellious phase, and today, things were not going well again as expected. He was annoyed and restless without an outlet, so whatever Liang Zhen said at this moment, he could hear the mockery and provocation in it. How could he not retort?

Xue Meng didn’t look up, just stared at Liang Zhen’s shoes and said lightly, “You, wearing Nike and Off-White collaboration shoes, what’s written on the inner shoe tag, ‘Life’s Struggle’?”

“My counterfeit shoes aren’t good, only two hundred yuan a pair including shipping. If you’re interested, I’ll send you the Taobao link.”

“I see,” Xue Meng responded just as quickly, full of talk without considering his words, “My family runs a clothing processing factory. We produce imitations of Versace, Gucci, LV for two hundred yuan each, so authentic-looking. If you’re interested, I can give you ten or eight pieces for free.”

“Damn, you high schoolers are getting into it,” Liang Zhen cursed with a smile.

“How much older are you than me?” Xue Meng raised his eyes, intending to continue arguing back, “Immature.”

“Who’s the immature one? It’s not me who got caught sneaking into internet cafes without anyone to bail them out,” Liang Zhen retorted, “Who’s the immature one after all?”

“So what if I did…”

Xue Meng’s response was fast, and he and Liang Zhen didn’t hesitate to exchange words. Liang Zhen was already slick with his tongue, and in a verbal battle, he was never the one at a disadvantage. So when Shao Mingyin came back after finishing his call, he saw an unexpected scene – both of them were standing, Liang Zhen was standing tall, puffing his chest, and Xue Meng was on his tiptoes, not wanting to lose momentum. And what they were discussing had long shifted from “being broke” to “showing off wealth.”

Liang Zhen: “My family is in the energy business! We make a lot of money!”

Xue Meng: “My family is in industry! We make money fast!”

Liang Zhen: “The silver mine was dug by my family over a decade ago!”

Xue Meng: “The wood from the Mu Mountain Station all belongs to my family!”

Liang Zhen: “My grandfather retired from a high position in the Lanzhou Military Region!”

Xue Meng: “So what? My grandfather was in Shenzhen in ’91, and he even shook hands and took photos with that gentleman!”

Shao Mingyin couldn’t get a word in between their back and forth. It was impossible to tell who was telling the truth and who was exaggerating. Finally, after shouting “Enough,” they both were still unsatisfied. After a simultaneous “Hmph!” one sat back on the stool, the other, with ulterior motives, sat along the edge of the bed.

Shao Mingyin looked at the two of them, feeling like they never grew up, finding it both headache-inducing and amusing. His phone was still in his hand, reminding him of the content of the call he just had. He asked Xue Meng if his homeroom teacher’s surname was Gu.

Xue Meng had been itching for a fight, but when he heard Shao Mingyin mention his homeroom teacher, he suddenly lost some of his aggressiveness. He stuttered a bit when he spoke, completely different from when he was bantering with Liang Zhen.

“Yes, yes, his surname is Gu. What’s the matter?”

“When you called home earlier and dialed the wrong number, you accidentally called your homeroom teacher. He just called the police station to inquire about the situation and is willing to bail you out,” Shao Mingyin glanced at the time, “I’ll have my colleague handle the procedures through a back door, so you don’t have to go there specially. Your teacher is on his way here.”

“Here? Teacher Gu is coming here?”

“Yes,” Shao Mingyin said, “he’s coming to pick you up.”

Xue Meng was stunned, but his back slowly straightened, as if he had ignited some hope. But Liang Zhen thought he was nervous about seeing the homeroom teacher and seized the opportunity to laugh: “The teacher has to come to bail you out. Is he losing face or what?”

Xue Meng’s expression immediately changed, coincidentally, “Life’s Struggle” had just finished playing, and another song from his playlist started playing in his headphones. Xue Meng took advantage of this and also unplugged his headphones.

“What’s so funny? I respect my teacher, what’s there to lose face about? But you—” Xue Meng deliberately aimed the speaker’s small hole at Liang Zhen, not noticing Liang Zhen’s changing expression, and continued to talk loudly.

“You said you’re from Lanzhou, this rapper is also from Lanzhou, listen to the lyrics he wrote in this song. You think you’re so witty, why don’t you try rap battles? Why don’t you compare yourself with him? You only know how to argue with me here, don’t you feel embarrassed?”

“I…” Liang Zhen blinked at the source of the music and suddenly didn’t know what to say. Xue Meng thought he was at a loss for words. In this silent battle without gunpowder, he defeated Liang Zhen.

But before he could revel in his triumph, Shao Mingyin, who was beside them, gently coughed, breaking the silence. He first looked at Liang Zhen, who was a bit confused, and then turned his gaze to Xue Meng. Shao Mingyin still smiled, but it was different from usual, even carrying a hint of pride.

Shao Mingyin said, “This song is sung by him.”

Xue Meng exclaimed, completely surprised by this twist. Seeing Liang Zhen’s expression change, he scrutinized him from head to toe. “Impossible, how could he possibly be—”

“His last name is Liang, from Liangshan,” Shao Mingyin explained, dispelling Xue Meng’s doubts, “So it’s ‘Liangzhou Ci’.”

Shao Mingyin continued, “He really is that Liang Zhen.”

As Shao Mingyin finished speaking, the song also reached its hook, with the Yellow River flowing far above the white clouds, accompanied by the beat of an electric guitar. One listen was enough to remember the melody, and one listen was enough to get lost in it.