Jing Tian arrived at the agreed meeting point ten minutes earlier than scheduled, and from afar, he could see Zheng Xunqian already there.

As usual, Zheng Xunqian stood quietly, noticing Jing Tian’s presence but neither speaking nor moving, only meeting his gaze with his own, his face showing little expression.

As Jing Tian approached him, he unconsciously touched his earlobe with the earring and instinctively wanted to hide his bracelet by tucking his hand into his sleeve.

Although he had put them on purposefully, he felt nervous at the thought of Zheng Xunqian noticing them.

He had dressed up seriously to see him, yet felt ashamed at the prospect of being noticed.

As he got closer, Jing Tian noticed that Zheng Xunqian wasn’t expressionless. Every detail of his eyes, lips, and face seemed unchanged, yet there was a hint of a smile in his eyes.

When he reached him, Jing Tian instinctively ran his hand through his freshly washed bangs.

He had tried to style his hair, not very successfully, not sure if it looked good or not, but it was noticeably different from his usual appearance.

Every detail from head to toe conveyed to the other person: I take this date very seriously, and I prepared for it carefully.

Zheng Xunqian lowered his head slightly, quietly watching him for a moment before saying, “Shall we go?”

As Jing Tian felt a sense of disappointment, he couldn’t help but think, “Just as I expected.”

He nodded and walked shoulder to shoulder with Zheng Xunqian.

After a few steps, Zheng Xunqian casually took Jing Tian’s hand. Jing Tian, somewhat accustomed to it, felt shy but didn’t resist, letting him.

After walking for a while, Jing Tian noticed that Zheng Xunqian’s fingers were restless.

Though Zheng Xunqian didn’t hold his hand tightly, his thumb deliberately lifted upward, playing with the metal pendant on his bracelet back and forth, appearing to be enjoying himself.

“What are you doing?” Jing Tian muttered, lowering his head.

“Do you like it very much?” 

Zheng Xunqian glanced at him and, realizing what he was talking about, paused his fingers, holding the small metal piece and replied, “Mm.”

“…Then I’ll give it to you,” Jing Tian said.

“No need,” Zheng Xunqian said, “It’s the same when it’s on you.”

For a moment, Jing Tian didn’t understand, silently wondering how to get Zheng Xunqian to praise him directly.

After thinking for a while, he suddenly realized that Zheng Xunqian’s words just now could also be interpreted as: because you belong to me too.

Blushing, Jing Tian lowered his head, thinking, “I’m shameless.”

Zheng Xunqian was oblivious to his inner thoughts, still holding his hand and playing with the pendant on his bracelet, his steps light, showing a very good mood.

The aquarium was located near the city center, quite far from the school, with no direct bus route, requiring a bus transfer to the subway, which took quite some time.

Arriving at the bustling downtown area far from the school, Jing Tian wasn’t so willing to hold hands with Zheng Xunqian.

Zheng Xunqian settled for hooking their pinky fingers. But even this looked increasingly ambiguous and conspicuous, making Jing Tian feel the heat of the passersby’s gazes, so he finally put both hands in his jacket pockets after some tugging and pulling.

Zheng Xunqian was very dissatisfied with this, his expression becoming gloomy, silent.

Walking side by side like this, Jing Tian soon realized that even without holding Zheng Xunqian’s hand, he was still the center of attention in the crowd, and the gazes directed at him hadn’t decreased much.

This was the first time he wore a coat since losing his memory.

Used to the light in the dormitory shared by only two people, in the past, he had three closets all to himself, stuffed full. Compared to the engineering students who usually wore either T-shirts or plaid shirts, his collection was incredibly diverse.

During this period, Jing Tian only chose the more plain ones to wear. Today, he still chose a not too flashy outer coat, but it was stylish and showed off his figure. Although he wasn’t tall, his body proportions were quite good, and this outfit was very pleasing to the eye. Even if his face was covered, he stood out in the crowd.

Since he was already being stared at, whether he held hands or not seemed to make little difference.

Amidst the surprised glances of strangers, Zheng Xunqian’s faintly depressed mood was what concerned him more.

Jing Tian regretted it and secretly took his hand out of his pocket.

After walking for a while, he noticed that Zheng Xunqian didn’t seem to intend to hold hands again. He felt anxious and didn’t know how to remedy the situation. Wanting to be a bit more courageous, he hesitated for a while, his heart pounding, but he never found the courage to act.

What should he do?

He subtly leaned towards Zheng Xunqian and deliberately swung his arms as he walked, trying to touch Zheng Xunqian’s hand with the back of his hand.

During their walk, whenever he consciously leaned in, their hands would occasionally brush against each other’s backs, very briefly, leaving an almost imperceptible sensation, not even transmitting body heat.

Zheng Xunqian didn’t react at all, as if he hadn’t noticed his actions.

When they reached an intersection, they stopped at the red light. Jing Tian blushed and sighed as if he had been jostled by the crowd beside him, leaning even closer to Zheng Xunqian.

They stood side by side, their hands back to back, completely touching. Jing Tian could feel the metal pendant on his wrist poking Zheng Xunqian’s skin, tightly sandwiched between them.

With a slight change in hand angle, Zheng Xunqian could easily hold his hand.

But Zheng Xunqian made no move.

Biting his lip, Jing Tian secretly looked up at Zheng Xunqian’s face. Zheng Xunqian was staring straight ahead, watching the countdown of the red light across the road.

As the countdown reached ten seconds, Jing Tian lowered his head and sighed disappointedly.

A very short, almost imperceptible, shallow laughter came from beside him. Jing Tian quickly turned his head and saw Zheng Xunqian also turning to face him, slowly raising his hand, palm up, stopping between them.

This was undoubtedly an invitation gesture.

He looked at Jing Tian with a clear smile on his face.

Jing Tian took a shallow breath and, while looking ahead again, also raised his hand and placed it in his palm.

The aquarium was a place that completely satisfied Jing Tian’s romantic imagination.

Licking his sea salt-flavored ice cream and holding hands with Zheng Xunqian, they walked through the azure underwater tunnel, feeling excited like elementary school kids on a field trip.

Since they were like elementary school kids on a field trip, holding hands with their desk mate was only natural. Jing Tian walked, and even felt like shaking the hand held by Zheng Xunqian.

And then, he actually did it.

It was childish, silly, attention-seeking, but very joyful.

Zheng Xunqian let him, with a smile on his face the whole time.

Midway through, a voice of a strange child came from behind them: “Mommy, there are two guys holding hands over there!”

Jing Tian turned around to see a young mother pulling her child’s head down, seemingly trying to make him lower his voice and not stare at others.

Jing Tian felt embarrassed again. He quickly looked away, trying to pretend nothing happened.

But unexpectedly, Zheng Xunqian let go of his hand.

Did he actually care about these things? This was quite rare. Just as Jing Tian was about to be surprised, Zheng Xunqian slightly raised his arm, wrapped it around Jing Tian’s waist, pulled him closer, and then leaned in, kissing his cheek.

Jing Tian widened his eyes, and Zheng Xunqian’s face, so close to him, was full of smiles, with a hint of pride.

“Too bad,” Jing Tian thought, blushing, “Sorry, kid.”

This big brother is really silly, but I like him.

Going to the aquarium, it’s natural to watch the dolphin show.

After visiting the underwater tunnel, they happened to catch the showtime. Jing Tian eagerly dragged Zheng Xunqian in, found a corner seat, and was full of anticipation.

“I’ve never seen a live dolphin show before,” he said, “Did you see the posters outside? They have beluga whales here too, they’re so cute and they smile!”

As he spoke, he unconsciously imitated the expression on the poster, making a somewhat silly smile.

Zheng Xunqian looked at him and nodded, “Mm.”

Jing Tian, excited, started talking more. He looked at the pool for the show and said, “I’ve never seen a beluga whale up close. Isn’t this pool too small for them?”

“It might be,” Zheng Xunqian said.

Jing Tian frowned, “Doesn’t that mean they can’t move much? How do they perform then?”

“They can move, but it’s still too small for them,” Zheng Xunqian said, “Most beluga whales living in these pools become depressed.”

“…!” Jing Tian was stunned.

“Not just beluga whales, dolphins too. The so-called smiles are just human interpretations, they’re just born like that,” Zheng Xunqian said, “Dolphins raised in captivity don’t live long.”

Jing Tian turned to look at him, blinking dumbly, momentarily speechless.

Just then, the show began.

Three dolphins leaped out amidst lively music, swimming back and forth in the not-so-wide pool. Then they simultaneously jumped out of the water, creating splashes, and applause erupted around them.

Jing Tian was about to clap along when the words Zheng Xunqian said to him earlier popped into his mind.

These joyful aquatic creatures may not be happy at the moment.

The trainers handed out rewards to the dolphins from buckets filled with small fish. The dolphins stood up, half of their bodies above the water, waving their fins back and forth, looking adorable.

“… They look very happy,” he said to Zheng Xunqian.

“They don’t express happiness this way in the wild,” Zheng Xunqian said, “This is the way humans want them to behave.”

“…”

“Dolphins’ intelligence is comparable to humans, and they have self-awareness,” Zheng Xunqian continued, “If you were made to perform in front of an audience at a window in a room as big as your classroom every day, wouldn’t you feel depressed?”

As an introverted person, Jing Tian tried to put himself in their shoes and felt terrible.

Just less than ten minutes ago, he was a very happy person, looking forward to the show, his heart full of sweetness.

But now, the exciting performance in front of him felt like torture.

“…Look, do you see the scar near the dolphin’s tail?” Zheng Xunqian pointed, “Some dolphins deliberately harm themselves due to emotional reasons.”

The dolphins were swimming too fast, so it was hard to see. But Jing Tian didn’t want to look closely anymore.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier…” he muttered quietly.

“You didn’t ask,” Zheng Xunqian said.

“You should have said when we decided to come to the aquarium,” Jing Tian said.

If he had known earlier, he would have definitely chosen somewhere else. Knowing the stories behind all this, the once joyful and adorable scene in his eyes completely changed. He started to feel uncomfortable.

“Do you not want to be here?” Zheng Xunqian asked.

Jing Tian muttered with a bitter face, “…why did you tell me now?”

Zheng Xunqian replied quickly, “Just thought of it.”

After a moment of being stunned, Jing Tian said, “I don’t want to watch anymore. Let’s go out.”

At Zheng Xunqian’s nod, without showing any signs of opposition, he stood up, “Let’s go then.”

As they reached the door, Jing Tian looked back one last time.

The dolphins were shaking their heads and tails towards the audience, looking extremely cute.

Seeing this made Jing Tian feel oddly sad.

Finally, Zheng Xunqian seemed to realize this and started to comfort him, “Don’t think too much. Even if we hadn’t come today, they would still have performed.”

“That’s not the point,” Jing Tian quickly walked out, “You, really…”

“Hmm?”

Ignore others’ feelings.

Jing Tian shook his head, but didn’t say anything.

They walked a few steps forward, and Jing Tian saw a large poster on the wall again. The playful and friendly smile of the beluga whale now seemed so ironic.

“You clearly knew, yet you still came to watch the show. Aren’t you feeling sad for them?” Jing Tian asked.

Zheng Xunqian quietly pondered for a moment, without giving a reply.

After a while, as they walked out of the venue, he held Jing Tian’s hand again and said, “If you’re feeling sad, I will feel distressed too.”

Jing Tian was taken aback.

“Let’s go somewhere else in the future for fun,” Zheng Xunqian suggested.

Jing Tian nodded slightly, blushing.

Deep down, he thought to himself that this seemed to be the closest thing Zheng Xunqian had ever said to him, akin to a confession.