Whether it was a misconception on Yu Nian’s part or not, their relationship had become somewhat distant since Qi Wang drew a sketch for him.

He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what went wrong.

Every morning, Qi Wang still waited at the door, ready to take him to work on his motorcycle.

In the restaurant, Qi Wang still worked diligently, habitually making a cup of coffee for him. Whenever Yu Nian needed something, Qi Wang responded accordingly.

But they had lost the intimacy they once shared.

During breaks, Qi Wang often sat alone, head bowed over his phone, no longer sticking close to Yu Nian as before.

Whenever Yu Nian leaned against Qi Wang or tried to hug him as he used to, Qi Wang’s body would stiffen for a moment before subtly pulling away.

Even the time Qi Wang spent working night shifts had increased; often, after dropping him off at home, Qi Wang would leave immediately, citing the bar’s recent busyness and the need for extra help.

But Yu Nian didn’t believe a word of it.

Yu Nian ignored the weather outside, drinking a glass of chilled lemon tea, feeling a chill creep into his heart.

He knew the reason behind Qi Wang’s avoidance.

He had been too cocky, too pushy, insisting that Qi Wang draw him.

But Qi Wang wasn’t oblivious.

That day, amidst the ambiguous atmosphere filling the room, his unusual gaze towards Qi Wang, his unconscious display of longing, it was all there for Qi Wang to see.

Qi Wang, as the drawing artist, had clearly noticed.

Thinking of this, the ice-cold lemon tea he had just drunk felt like it had frozen in his stomach, sending chills down his spine, sinking even his heart.

Yu Nian couldn’t help but feel a little sad.

But upon careful reflection, he couldn’t say he regretted it.

That day, when he lay on Qi Wang’s bed, watching Qi Wang focused on drawing behind the easel, an inexplicable confidence surged within him, bordering on arrogance. He even thought that even if Qi Wang was straight, he could still make him bend.

So he didn’t hold back at all; his longing and emotions were laid bare for all to see, clear as day.

But the reality proved that he had overthought things.

After Qi Wang snapped out of it, the first thing he did was quietly distance himself from Yu Nian.

Yu Nian sighed heavily, lowering his eyes.

He glanced at Qi Wang by the window with a wry smile, thinking, even if he had been testing the waters, if he ever truly confessed, would it make any difference?

This awkward situation persisted for over a week.

No one in the restaurant noticed, but Yu Nian and Qi Wang knew it all too well.

Then, just a week after Halloween, nearing the end of their shift, Song Yunchun burst in with her small purse, cheerfully announcing that she would take the whole restaurant on an autumn outing.

When Yu Nian heard the words “autumn outing” from Song Yunchun, he was completely baffled.

They weren’t elementary school students anymore, so why go on an autumn outing?

But Song Yunchun was serious.

She explained with a smile to Yu Nian, “We have an autumn outing every year. Nowadays, many restaurants organize team-building activities for their employees. I can’t fall behind other bosses, can I? Although we’re in the service industry, we can’t be busy with work all year round, right? We need to relax once in a while.”

Of course, there was another reason: the money Yu Nian’s brother and sister gave her was simply too much, and she felt uneasy without giving something back to her employees.

Although she used to take her employees on short trips in previous years, she always had to calculate the costs carefully.

This year, however, she had waved off the budget constraints and increased the budget significantly.

But they were still a restaurant, so the autumn outing could only last for a maximum of two days and one night.

If it went on any longer, they might lose customers.

So after unanimous voting, the autumn outing was finally set in Jiangyang County, a neighboring town.

It was a picturesque town, with maple and ginkgo trees covering the entire town during autumn, the fallen leaves piling up layer upon layer, a breathtaking sight. In addition to a mining park, the town also had a newly built small amusement park, and it seemed there were hot springs at the foot of the mountain.

On the day of the outing, Song Yunchun hired a large bus. There were a total of twelve employees in the restaurant, just enough to fill half the bus. Except for a few who wanted to catch up on sleep, everyone else squeezed together, sharing snacks and chatting, looking like elementary school students on a field trip.

Yu Nian still sat with Qi Wang.

But they were both engrossed in their own activities—Yu Nian played games on his phone, while Qi Wang listened to music with his headphones. Neither of them spoke, except for one instance when Xiao Gu passed a pack of hawthorn slices over. Yu Nian lightly touched Qi Wang’s arm, asking if he wanted some.

Qi Wang, who had been dozing off with his headphones on, was jolted by Yu Nian’s touch on his arm.

He opened his eyes, instinctively pulling his arm back, as if deliberately creating distance between them.

But when he lowered his head, he realized that Yu Nian had only offered him a pack of hawthorn slices.

Yu Nian bit his lip, feeling a momentary sense of defeat.

But he still smiled at Qi Wang and asked softly, “Do you want some?”

Qi Wang shook his head.

Yu Nian didn’t press further, simply moving a little away to give Qi Wang some space.

Upon arriving at the town, everyone stood in the living room of the homestay, waiting to be assigned rooms.

The homestay rented by Song Yunchun consisted of two villas very close to each other, one for males and one for females, with mostly double occupancy rooms. Everyone was left to assign rooms themselves.

Yu Nian and Qi Wang were assumed to be staying together.

Chu Hejun, who had social anxiety and hadn’t decided whom to share a room with, casually grabbed the key next to him and tossed it to Yu Nian. “Here, this is the large south-facing room on the third floor, with a balcony. Do you and Qi Wang want to stay here?”

Yu Nian caught the key but didn’t immediately agree. Instead, he turned to look at Qi Wang.

“Do you want to stay with me?” He turned to face Qi Wang but avoided looking directly at him, trying to appear nonchalant. “If you think I snore too loudly at night, I’ll stay with Chu Hejun.”

His tone was light, and there was no trace of disappointment on his face, as if he didn’t care about Qi Wang’s choice at all.

But Qi Wang’s gaze lingered on his face for a long time before nodding.

“Let’s take this room then,” Qi Wang said. 

Once the rooms were assigned, everyone went back to their rooms to unpack.

The town itself wasn’t big, so two days and one night were enough to explore it fully.

As they were all adults, there was no need to stick together for activities. They could form teams or explore individually. However, they had to return to the homestay not too late at night to avoid disturbing others’ rest.

Yu Nian wasn’t particularly interested in this trip, and Qi Wang even less so.

The final schedule was decided by Xiao Gu. “First, we’ll go to Jinli Lake in the afternoon, and there’s a small hill nearby that takes forty minutes to climb. Then, in the evening, we’ll go to the newly built amusement park.”

“There seems to be an iron flower performance at the amusement park that I really want to see,” Xiao Gu said, holding a map and studying it seriously. “I’ve done some research, and the doughnuts at the amusement park are supposed to be delicious, and the red bean ice cream is also famous.”

No one objected, and it was unanimously approved.

The amusement park wasn’t anything special; it was just a small amusement park covering about twenty hectares, mainly featuring activities related to the nearby mining park.

But because they were a group of young people out to have fun, they laughed and joked around. They bought red bean ice cream and shivered in the cold autumn wind as they ate, their teeth chattering.

Yu Nian wasn’t initially interested, but Xiao Gu dragged him onto a kayak ride. It was a tour project developed in an abandoned cave. Although there were lights inside, it was still dim and eerie. Occasionally, a drop of water would fall from the stone wall onto the neck of a visitor, sending shivers down their spine.

Yu Nian couldn’t help but scream a few times, grabbing Qi Wang’s hand tightly.

But soon he realized it wasn’t right and withdrew his hand from Qi Wang’s.

However, Qi Wang reached out and held his hand back.

The raft floated through the dark corridors.

All around were the screams of tourists, a mixture of men and women’s voices.

Excitement, fear, cursing friends for being tricked—all sorts of sounds intertwined.

Echoing in the cave.

…

But suddenly, Yu Nian wasn’t so afraid anymore.

Everything seemed distant.

Only Qi Wang holding his hand felt real, gripping it tightly as if conveying silent comfort.

He even heard Qi Wang say to him, “Don’t be afraid.”

Yu Nian’s heart trembled slightly, and he didn’t know why, but he really didn’t feel so afraid anymore.

When they emerged from the cave, he softly said to Qi Wang, “Thank you.”

There was a hint of surprise in Qi Wang’s eyes.

He shook his head and said nothing.

After a while, when they had recovered from the eerie atmosphere, Xiao Gu and the others were excitedly heading to the egg waffle stall. Qi Wang, relying on his height and long legs, lined up first.

But he wasn’t buying for himself; he was buying for Yu Nian.

The egg waffles were chocolate-flavored, with a thick spoonful of cream, completely catering to the taste buds. Qi Wang handed it to Yu Nian.

Yu Nian stared at the egg waffle for a while before accepting it.

He silently took a bite, the taste of chocolate and cream mixing together, almost sickeningly sweet.

There was still a faint melancholy lingering in his heart, but when he saw Qi Wang staring at him intently, he couldn’t help but smile gently.

“The cream is quite sweet,” he said to Qi Wang. “It’s delicious.”

There was nothing particularly special about this statement.

But Qi Wang seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Perhaps because the egg waffle was too sweet, the invisible barrier between Yu Nian and Qi Wang seemed to melt away during the rest of the trip.

Yu Nian walked side by side with Qi Wang. Due to their height difference, Yu Nian’s head only reached Qi Wang’s shoulders.

Later, when they went to watch the firework performance, the crowd in front blocked their view, and Yu Nian couldn’t see anything even after jumping a few times.

He was about to complain to Xiao Gu when he turned around and found that Xiao Gu, who was only 162 cm tall, had already been lifted up by Chu Hejun.

Although the socially anxious Chu Hejun didn’t exercise much, he was quite tall, at 182 cm. Holding Xiao Gu, such a slender girl, was a bit challenging, but he did it without complaint.

Yu Nian: “…”

Fine, fine, fine, you heterosexuals know how to have fun. So what if there’s a height difference?

He sneered disdainfully and kicked over this bowl of dog food.

But when he turned his head again, there were also a pair of hands around his waist.

With a little effort, Qi Wang lifted him up.

Qi Wang exercised regularly and had strong arms. He was the one who did all the heavy lifting at the restaurant. Lifting Yu Nian wasn’t any more difficult than Chu Hejun lifting Xiao Gu.

Yu Nian suddenly became the tallest person in the crowd, looking confused.

He heard Qi Wang ask from below, “See anything?”

“Yes, I can see.”

Yu Nian was feeling dazed.

As the performer in the middle struck down with a hammer, sparks flew everywhere, truly embodying the saying, “Iron trees bloom and countless stars appear.”

But Yu Nian was not focused on enjoying the show at all.

In the instant when the sparks illuminated the night sky, he instinctively looked down to see Qi Wang’s face.

Qi Wang’s eyes reflected countless stars, like harboring a long-awaited storm.

With a blink of his eyelashes, the storm swept in from the sea, unleashing an endless downpour.

Yu Nian felt dizzy for a moment.

He couldn’t tell which was brighter, the thousands of iron flowers falling or Qi Wang’s eyes.