The Grandma’s Kitchen they wanted to visit was in Wansheng city mall on Wenrui Avenue. If they went during mealtime, they would surely need to wait in line, but they arrived early and were promptly led to a table for four by the waiter. Once seated, Liang Zhen checked off garlic vermicelli shrimp and tea-flavored chicken on the menu, then asked Shao Mingyin what he wanted to eat.

Shao Mingyin didn’t hesitate: “Crab meat pumpkin.”

Liang Zhen clicked his tongue. “How do you still remember that?”

Although Grandma’s Kitchen was a chain, there was only one in Wenzhou. So, Ling Junqian had been there before, but he had no impression of this dish, nor was it listed on the menu in his hand.

“In fact, it’s egg yolk pumpkin,” Shao Mingyin said. “I ordered it last time we came to eat, and he loved that dish the most. But he always thought the stuff wrapped on top was crab meat. He finished the whole plate and still couldn’t figure out what kind of crab it was.”

“It’s your fault for not telling me it was egg yolk in the first place,” Liang Zhen reasoned boldly. “The taste of egg yolk is similar to crab roe and crab paste, right?”

Ling Junqian chuckled. “Don’t say that to people from Wenzhou. Some of them can tell if the yellow croaker is wild just by picking it up with chopsticks. They feel uncomfortable all day if they don’t eat seafood. If they hear you comparing crabs and egg yolk, they’ll argue with you.”

In addition to egg yolk pumpkin, Shao Mingyin also ordered mapo tofu, while Ling Junqian ordered sweet and sour spare ribs. After ordering a vegetable dish and soup, they handed the menu back to the waiter, who took it and left after giving their table another obvious glance.

Knowing they were going out to eat, Shao Mingyin had put on another jacket before coming out, while Ling Junqian had changed into a uniform. Liang Zhen, on the other hand, was still wearing his high school uniform. He was tall and broad-shouldered, but his complexion was youthful, so wearing a school uniform made him look like a high school student indeed. Ling Junqian couldn’t quite figure out Liang Zhen’s exact age, but he couldn’t ask directly, so he asked which grade Liang Zhen was in now.

“I’ll be twenty-one in a few months, about to graduate from college,” Liang Zhen adjusted the collar of his uniform, “I just wanted to hear him give a presentation and asked a friend where they bought the school uniforms from the school logistics department.”

Shao Mingyin asked, “So, this uniform belongs to you now?”

“Yeah,” Liang Zhen straightened out the three vertical black stripes on his sleeve, “this is really the coolest school uniform I’ve ever seen. With the school badge covered, if I tell others I’m wearing Adidas, they’d believe it.”

“Cool, Liang Zhen is the coolest and most fashionable on this street,” Shao Mingyin agreed, his mouth seemed to want to show disdain, but the smile was obvious.

The dishes at Grandma’s kitchen were served quickly. The three of them chatted intermittently, but mostly focused on eating. Ling Junqian spoke the least. He originally thought Liang Zhen invited him to dinner because there was something to ask, but perhaps because Shao Mingyin was also present, Liang Zhen’s questions were limited to whether Shao Mingyin learned combat and grappling well when he was in the police academy.

And Ling Junqian didn’t say anything to Shao Mingyin alone until Liang Zhen went to the front desk to pay the bill, and they had some time alone. At first, Ling Junqian didn’t expect Liang Zhen to take so long, so despite having a lot to say and ask, he remained silent and didn’t speak until Shao Mingyin asked him how he was doing recently.

Ling Junqian said it was the same as usual, and Shao Mingyin didn’t say anything else. After another silence, Ling Junqian said that he was going to get engaged next year.

Shao Mingyin asked, “A girl from Wenzhou?”

“Yeah, we met during a joint operation with the Industrial and Commercial Bureau last year. We got along well, so we decided to settle down.”

“I wish you all the best,” Shao Mingyin knew that Ling Junqian could like girls. He had always preferred girls, except for Shao Mingyin, he had never had another male partner.

“Are you coming to the engagement party then? Bring your…” Ling Junqian paused, “Bring your little boyfriend too.”

Shao Mingyin pursed his lips and smiled, “If he hears that, he’ll definitely argue with you, saying he’s twenty now, not a little boyfriend.”

“But he is indeed younger than you,” Ling Junqian remarked. Shao Mingyin was in a good mood now, and he looked happy, but Ling Junqian always felt that Liang Zhen was still too young. Just now, when they were chatting, he heard Liang Zhen say that after graduation, he would still pursue a career in rap instead of finding a job. Ling Junqian himself was a civil servant within the system and was older than Liang Zhen. Thinking about Shao Mingyin’s experiences from a few years ago, he felt that living with Liang Zhen might be somewhat unstable.

“Does he know about your past?” Ling Junqian asked tentatively.

Shao Mingyin hesitated, and Ling Junqian could tell that he hadn’t fully disclosed everything to Liang Zhen.

“He’s quite respectful,” Shao Mingyin said, “He won’t ask if I don’t tell him, which is quite nice.”

“It is nice,” Ling Junqian agreed. After all, nobody wants to reopen old wounds, and what’s most important in life is moving forward.

“But we’ll be back in Shijiazhuang before the New Year,” Shao Mingyin’s mood was still good, “His last performance of the year will be there. If you happen to be there too, you can come and watch.”

After a while, Liang Zhen, who had finished paying the bill, finally came back leisurely. The three of them left together for the parking lot. After getting into their respective cars, Liang Zhen didn’t say anything along the way. It wasn’t until they got home that he asked what they had been talking about.

Shao Mingyin could guess that Liang Zhen was doing it on purpose, and there wasn’t much to hide anyway. He said his ex-boyfriend invited him to a pre-engagement party.

“Then we have to bring a big gift,” Liang Zhen said, “and if he’s going back to Shijiazhuang for the holidays, I’ll give him a ticket to my performance.”

“Why are you so generous now?” Shao Mingyin teased him, “When you were listening to the presentation, didn’t you get all jealous and pouty? Have you fixed your jealousy factory?”

“It’s all because of what you said, say it again, please,” Liang Zhen insisted.

“You’ve already read the text, haven’t you?”

“It’s not the same, it’s not the same,” Liang Zhen acted spoiled, hugging Shao Mingyin from behind, his arms around his waist, chin resting on his shoulder, “I want to hear you say it to my face.”

“Okay, okay,” Shao Mingyin looked at Liang Zhen as if he were a big dog lying on top of him, reluctantly agreeing, “I said—”

“I said I don’t like anyone else, no matter what they’re like,” Shao Mingyin’s hand also stroked Liang Zhen’s arm around his waist, his gaze also falling there. He smiled, he said—

“But Liang Zhen, I like everything about you.”

Liang Zhen was happy and pleased. Of course, he, who was nourished by love, would continue to repay Shao Mingyin well. When they didn’t get assigned those two German Shepherds at the Mushan Street police station, he volunteered to help Shao Mingyin patrol, although sometimes he ended up being more of a hindrance than help. Once, they actually encountered a situation where a cat had jumped from a tree onto a utility pole and couldn’t get down. Shao Mingyin found a wooden ladder and climbed up to get the cat down and returned it to its owner. The owner was an old lady who couldn’t stop thanking Shao Mingyin. She even said her cat had just given birth to kittens, and if Shao Mingyin liked, he could take one home. Liang Zhen, who was dismantling the ladder at the time, immediately stood beside Shao Mingyin. He knew Shao Mingyin was a bit allergic to animal fur, so he helped him decline, saying they already had a dog at home.

The old lady then asked how big their dog was, and Liang Zhen gestured to himself, saying it’s about as tall as this when it jumps on you. Shao Mingyin didn’t expose him on the spot; it wasn’t until they got back into the car that he twisted Liang Zhen’s ear and told him to stop talking nonsense all the time.

Days passed like this, and Liang Zhen’s second round of tours was about to begin. This time, he only had one stop in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, then Guangzhou, Changsha, with the last show before the New Year in Shijiazhuang, and after the New Year, he would also go to Chengdu and Beijing.

Once this schedule was finalized, he realized he wouldn’t be able to return to Lanzhou again that year. But the venue chosen in Shijiazhuang was particularly good; However, when Liang Zhen excitedly told Shao Mingyin, Shao Mingyin didn’t share his excitement at all. He truly didn’t seem to want to go back. If Liang Zhen hadn’t kept an eye on him as he was buying the plane ticket, he couldn’t guarantee he would see Shao Mingyin that day.

This also made him feel upset. He felt that Shao Mingyin didn’t not want to go back, but was afraid to go back. But even if the unexpected deaths of his parents were too heavy for him, was it really something to fear? Liang Zhen believed Shao Mingyin must be hiding something from him.

Even if he looked through Shao Mingyin’s records, he would find they were not much different from what Shao Mingyin had told him. But when he cautiously asked about when and how Shao Mingyin’s hand was injured, Shao Mingyin, not wanting to lie but also unwilling to tell, could only give vague answers.

And that vague truth was like the pain in the palm of his hand, leaving a mark, painful enough that Shao Mingyin hadn’t returned home for so many years. Even with Liang Zhen now, he still didn’t want to face it. Of course, Liang Zhen wouldn’t force him. All he could do was accompany him. But if he could find an opportunity to pry a little, he didn’t think it would be a bad thing.

But what he didn’t expect was that this opportunity would come so coincidentally. Just the day before he left for Hangzhou, he checked the luggage at home several times, but Shao Mingyin hadn’t returned. Liang Zhen knew Shao Mingyin wasn’t on duty that day, so there was no reason for him not to come back late. But when he sent messages, there was no reply, and when he called, there was no answer. Liang Zhen panicked instantly. When he asked in the family group chat, everyone just told him not to worry.

But could Liang Zhen not worry? When he was anxious, he could only resort to asking for help. He called Zhao Jie, and of course, Zhao Jie didn’t expect Liang Zhen to be Shao Mingyin’s partner, but with various clues pieced together, she didn’t immediately question his sexual orientation.

“Don’t be nervous, something came up,” Zhao Jie told him not to worry, but her tone didn’t sound like everything was fine. “Xiao Shao went to the municipal bureau today; he should be back soon, don’t worry.”

“Why did he go to the municipal bureau?” Liang Zhen’s intuition told him things weren’t that simple. “What exactly happened?”

“Nothing really happened…” Zhao Jie sighed, feeling that she should tell Liang Zhen the truth, “How should I put it, Xiao Shao, he…”

“What happened to Shao Mingyin?”

“He…” Zhao Jie sighed, “He got into a fight.”