Yan Chen’s high fever recurred, coupled with not being accustomed to the water and soil of Jin Hai, he fell ill and needed to be observed in the hospital.

On the day he was admitted, Yan Chen rushed into the ward in high heels to see him.

“40 degrees?” Flipping through the nurse’s ward round records hanging by the bed, Yan Chen said seriously, “Did you hear a bubbling sound?”

Yan Chen weakly lifted his eyelids.

Yan Chen pointed at his head, “Is there boiling water bubbling up here?”

Yan Chen slapped her hand away.

“Tsk, still can’t win him over?”

Yan Chen propped up her legs, counting on her fingers, “he doesn’t want your money, and I guess he’s tired of your face these years. Although you’re energetic, he definitely won’t let you touch him now. As for your career, you just have an empty title, and your brain is fried now.”

All five fingers were wiped out, Yan Chen looked distressed, “I wouldn’t take you back either.”

“…” Yan Chen’s throat burned painfully, unable to retort.

After teasing him, Yan Chen finally straightened up, “Since you’ve hit a dead end, when you’re better, come back with me to Xichuan. Apologize to Dad, and let it go.”

Yan Chen shook his head, hoarsely squeezing out two words: “Not going.”

Yan Chen had expected his answer long ago, she took out Yan Chen’s confiscated phone, wallet, and ID from her bag, and threw them into his arms one by one.

“Stubborn, been like this since you were a kid, if I tell you not to do something, you’ll do it anyway.”

“I told you not to ski, but you went skiing in the wild in Switzerland.”

“I told you not to play the drums, but you kept knocking on Dad’s bedroom door in the middle of the night.”

“…”

Yan Chen listened quietly, picking up the phone.

Chat and office apps accumulated a pile of unread messages. He scrolled through them one by one, finally reaching the bottom where he found An Yi’s chat box.

As they hadn’t conversed in a long time, the chat box was gray and silent, just like him.

Yan Chen clicked in and started to look through the past messages.

Electronic products update and iterate very quickly. Over the years, Yan Chen couldn’t remember how many times he had changed his phone. Sometimes, when he was in a good mood, he would migrate the chat records together, and sometimes he would forget, so there weren’t many chat messages left on this phone. He only had to scroll for a while to reach the top.

At that time, An Yi used to send him messages quite frequently.

Encountering a stray cat or wildflowers on the roadside, he would take pictures to share with him.

“Is it raining today? Did you bring an umbrella? There’s a cat on the street getting rained on, I brought it into the store. It’s a bit shy, keeps meowing.”

“What are you doing? Today a kid drew a bird, I mistook it for a duck, she almost cried, but I calmed her down with some candy.”

“Did you have your meal on time? Today I learned a dessert, come try it when you’re free.”

“I’ve been working on pottery all day, my back is so sore. If you sit in meetings for too long, remember to stretch. Next time I see you, I’ll give you a massage.”

“The weather is nice, kinda miss you.”

…

Messages like these, but Yan Chen’s responses were few and far between.

Later on, An Yi’s messages gradually became shorter, no more cute cats or dogs, no more snippets of daily life.

“Are you coming over today?”

“Are you busy with something?”

“Waiting for you.”

“Happy birthday, miss you.”

Yan Chen flipped back, repeatedly examining those caring and waiting messages he had once scorned and missed.

His eyes became sore, and his heart tightened and felt bitter.

He turned to the photo album again. Six years had passed since he and An Yi had been together. There were no more than ten photos of them together. An Yi used to smile shyly and handsomely, like a warm and humble older brother. But later, the smile disappeared, his eyes became empty and dim, almost like a different person altogether.

How disappointed and sad must one be to undergo such a drastic change?

Yan Chen realized too late that the person he had been so sure would never leave had actually been shattered into pieces during the long erosion.

That once wholehearted, selfless love was gradually consumed by his indifference, leaving nothing behind.

“Even if you take a step back,” Yan Chen did an emotional analysis in his ear, “if you win him back and find it boring in a few days, and toss them away again, that’s mistreatment. I advise you to think about it carefully.”

“I won’t,” Yan Chen put down his phone, his bloodshot eyes filled with unprecedented seriousness and determination, “I won’t mistreat him anymore.”

Yan Chen raised an eyebrow, “Have you thought it through?”

Yan Chen leaned back on the hospital bed, silently staring at the ceiling, “Yeah.”

His eyes were vacant, his thoughts drifting to a night with An Yi by his side. He missed An Yi’s shy smile and his gentle kisses immensely.

He missed the peaceful and beautiful half year they spent at his Villa. It was a tranquility that no amount of money or alcohol could buy.

An Yi was like an inconspicuous little sapling, seemingly fragile but actually resilient, able to withstand the wind and rain. Over the years, he had silently taken root in Yan Chen’s heart. He wouldn’t notice or pay attention normally, but now, when this tree wanted to be uprooted and leave him, Yan Chen felt every pulse dull and painful.

“Jie, I can’t leave him. I miss him so much it hurts.”

Just thinking about last night when An Yi went crazy, screaming and crying, made Yan Chen’s throat feel like it was being strangled.

“I’ve lost such a good person. I have to get him back.”

Yan Chen looked at the distraught person on the hospital bed, propping her chin on her hand, squinting her eyes.

Yan Chen raised his hand to his forehead, murmuring, “i have to.”

“Okay.”

Yan Chen clapped her hands, taking the wallet, “Then I’ll take this. Dad ordered, if you don’t go back, he’ll freeze your card.”

Yan Chen didn’t move, as if he hadn’t heard.

“I’m really taking it.” Yan Chen shook the wallet and slowly put it into her own bag.

Yan Chen simply closed his eyes.

“The prodigal son, but you can’t exchange him for gold, can you? When you’re discharged, where do you plan to sleep? I’ll have Jiang Hai prepare a spot for you under a bridge in advance.”

Yan Chen found her annoying, so he simply pulled the blanket over his head.

“Tianxing Bridge, okay?” Yan Chen smiled, “How about that?”

The person under the blanket stiffened for a moment, then revealed messy hair and red-tinged eyes.

Yan Chen twirled two keys between her fingers leisurely, “1202, 90 square meters. It’s a small house, but it should be fine for a bachelor like you.”

“Let’s make it clear,” Yan Chen instructed, “I’ll only help you this far. Don’t expect me to give you a single penny in the future, and don’t bother trying to find Wenxing and Muye. I’ve already talked to them. If you’re not in Xichuan, no one will handle the company’s affairs, and Jiang Hai will come with me.”

Yan Chen nodded, “Yeah.”

Yan Chen lifted his chin, and Yan Chen raised his hands, finally getting hold of the keys.

Yan Chen pinched his cheek, stood up, and threw out a sentence, “Let’s see what you can do.”

“Persist for a few more days,” then, in her high heels, she hooked her hand with Jiang Hai beside her. “Let’s go.”

“Take care, Mr. Yan,” Jiang Hai quickly caught up and helped Yan Chen carry her bag. The two of them left the hospital together.

Yan Chen stayed alone in the hospital for a day and a night. When he was discharged the next day after observation, the medical expenses first stumped him.

His sister took away all his cards, and the money in his phone’s electronic wallet had already been transferred. He had no choice but to use consumer credit to cover the expenses, but how to repay the debt later was a problem.

The most troublesome thing now was eating. He only had two hundred left on him, barely enough for a meal in the past.

He stood in the bleak autumn wind and looked back at the hospital building. He remembered when An Yi used to rush day and night at the children’s hospital in Xichuan. At that time, wasn’t there a mountain weighing heavily on his shoulders?

He must have been helpless and suffering every day back then. Compared to An Yi, what was this little embarrassment?

Yan Chen took a taxi back to Tianxing Bridge Community.

His sister was not unkind to him. The apartment she rented was cleaned up nicely, with a coffee machine, game console, computer, projector, all his preferred brands.

The sofa was also new, just a bit oversized, taking up most of the living room.

There were flowers and fruits on the coffee table, along with a sticky note with Yan Chen’s message: “Eat sparingly, if necessary, you can gnaw on the table legs, they’re solid wood.”

“…”

Yan Chen lay on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought. His ears, however, were always perked up, listening to the sounds in the hallway.

The wall clock on the wall ticked past five o’clock, and he heard noises outside.

Hurriedly flashing to the door, he turned the knob so gently that it made almost no sound. The apartment he rented, 1202, was in the middle of the corridor. He opened the door and looked to the left. The end of the corridor, a few meters away, was where An Yi’s apartment, 1201, was located.

An Yi bought two bags of clay and glaze.

Yesterday, the ceramic board at home was shattered clean, and he wanted to glaze it himself and then practice painting on the glaze.

The clay was a bit heavy. After dragging it out of the elevator, he took a break, then made a determined effort to carry it to the door. Unexpectedly, he saw a small bunch of champagne-colored roses on the doorknob.

An Yi took the flowers down but didn’t find a note.

He frowned, turned back to look behind him. There was no one in the hallway, just the neighbor’s door next to his, slightly open.

An Yi guessed it was probably sent by Yan Chen.

He had no relatives or friends. Xie Nancang had just bid him farewell downstairs. The only person who could quietly send flowers was Yan Chen.

An Yi threw the flowers into the trash can in the stairwell and went back inside, closing the door.

Over the next two days, he received flowers again, similarly left on the doorknob. Sometimes they were pink, sometimes purple-gray. Annoyed, he threw all the innocent bouquets away.

He had a half-day sketching class on Saturday morning. He had practiced ceramic board painting until late at night the previous night and overslept this morning.

Xie Nancang was waiting downstairs to take him to the training class. Hurriedly, with his bag slung over his shoulder, An Yi went downstairs. The neighbor’s door was still open. These days, whenever he passed by, he could always smell a strong instant noodle aroma coming from inside.

An Yi didn’t pay much attention and quickly entered the elevator to go downstairs.

After leaving the community, Xie Nancang greeted him, rubbing his hair affectionately. “Why’s it all standing up? So cute.”

“Ah,” An Yi smiled shyly, “I overslept.”

“Have you had breakfast?” Xie Nancang suggested, “Let’s grab something nearby first.”

“No time, ” An Yi glanced at the time, “I’ll just buy some bread later.”

Xie Nancang opened the car door for him, and they got into the car one after the other, which was faster than An Yi going through the alleys.

“How long will this business trip last?” An Yi learned that Xie Nancang was going abroad and felt a bit worried, “Is the matter not resolved yet?”

“It’s resolved,” Xie Nancang smiled at him, making a left turn at the traffic light, “I’m mainly going to negotiate cooperation with two foreign companies. I also need to make a trip to Australia to organize an event for my grandfather’s little exhibition hall. He doesn’t trust anyone else to handle it.”

An Yi nodded knowingly. “It’s better for someone reliable to handle it.”

Xie Nancang sighed. “I really wish you could come with me.”

“I have exams next month,” An Yi smiled.

Xie Nancang calculated the time and said, “I’ll try to be back before then.”

The car turned two streets and stopped at the roadside with the hazard lights on. An Yi unfastened his seatbelt and said as he got out, “You don’t have to rush, it’s okay to drop me off here, I can manage on my own.”

“I want to come back early to see you,” Xie Nancang’s gaze was direct, fixed on him.

An Yi slowly loosened his seatbelt, then looked into his eyes, “I’ll wait for you to come back, I won’t run away.”

Xie Nancang smiled and leaned in to plant a kiss on An Yi’s cheek, “Go, I’ll text you when I reach the airport.”

An Yi nodded and bid him farewell, then got out of the car and hurried upstairs to the training institution.

He made it to the sketching room three minutes before class started. The classroom was already full of people when he arrived. He walked to his usual spot and was surprised to see a steaming bowl of porridge and a stuffed pancake on the desk.

“What’s this…”

An Yi thought he had taken someone else’s seat. He wanted to move, but the girl who usually sat next to him excitedly told him, “A handsome guy just put this on your desk, he said it’s specially for you.”

An Yi’s face didn’t look too good. He put down his bag and sat down. At this moment, the sketching teacher entered with a tall, long-legged model.

“Class, today we’re going to do figure drawing. This is our model.”

There was a commotion and exclamations in the classroom.

An Yi looked up, and three meters away stood Yan Chen in a leather jacket and black pants, his sharp features and handsome appearance dominating the center of the classroom.

Yan Chen’s hands were clasped behind his back as he nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

His dark eyes casually swept the classroom, finally settling on An Yi’s face in the corner.

An Yi furrowed his brows and calmly lowered his eyelashes.

The meeting of their eyes lasted only a fraction of a second, but it was enough for Yan Chen to see the emotions surging in An Yi’s eyes.

Disgust.