From down the hallway of his dorm building, Lu Yan could already see someone waiting outside his room. It was one of his exes—the one who’d left the deepest impression on him.

Not just because this person had been his first serious relationship, but also because he was the only one who had initiated the breakup while Lu Yan was still very much into him. It was something Lu Yan never quite understood.

“Xiao Yan.” The man was dressed in a long camel-colored trench coat, leaning against the door to Lu Yan’s room. The hallway light cast a soft golden glow over his fine hair.

Lu Yan stared at him blankly. Was it just his imagination, or did Fu Shipei seem…different from before?

“Xiao Yan?” Fu Shipei called again, snapping Lu Yan back to reality. Exes showing up out of the blue wasn’t unusual for him, but it was different when the ex was Fu Shipei.

After all, it had been two years since their breakup, and this was the first time Fu Shipei had come to find him in person rather than over the phone.

“What are you doing here?” Lu Yan didn’t seem particularly happy or annoyed, his indifferent tone suggesting he was simply greeting an old friend he hadn’t seen in a while.

“I came to see you.” Fu Shipei smiled, walking towards Lu Yan. “I moved back to City B. With the holiday, I thought I’d come by to catch up.”

“Why didn’t you reach out?” Lu Yan let Fu Shipei take his hand.

“I wanted it to be a surprise.” Taking Lu Yan’s keys like he belonged there, Fu Shipei unlocked the door and led him inside.

Fu Shipei’s personality matched his appearance—gentle and unthreatening. Back when they’d dated, he’d never raised his voice at Lu Yan, with their breakup being his only strong-willed moment.

“How’d you know I was on campus?” Lu Yan asked, turning to look at him.

“A bit of asking around,” Fu Shipei replied with a smile.

“Where were you today? I waited for ages, but you didn’t show up.”

As he spoke, he absently rubbed Lu Yan’s wrist with his fingers. “You’ve gotten thinner,” he muttered to himself.

“I was at my boyfriend’s place.” Lu Yan didn’t feel like he was lying—he figured he’d be with Wei Yuhe sooner or later anyway.

Fu Shipei’s grip on his hand tightened. “Do I know him?”

Lu Yan flashed him an innocent smile. “How could you know him? He’s my junior.”

Thoughtfully, Fu Shipei kept hold of Lu Yan’s wrist. “So…when are you planning to break up?”

Lu Yan: “…” He hadn’t even started dating him yet—why talk about breaking up?

“I’m not planning to break up,” he replied.

A frown creased Fu Shipei’s brow. “Not planning to?”

“Of course not,” Lu Yan said matter-of-factly. “I’ve never met anyone as good-looking as him. No way I’m letting him go after I’ve caught him.”

Letting go of Lu Yan’s wrist, Fu Shipei’s expression remained smiling and calm, as though he wasn’t bothered at all. In a joking tone, he said, “You told me the same thing back when we started dating.”

Lu Yan quickly interrupted, “Hey, you’re the one who wanted to break up back then. I’m the one who got dumped, remember?”

With a helpless smile, Fu Shipei replied, “Little liar. If I hadn’t broken up with you, would you really have stayed with me?”

Lu Yan fell silent. No, he wouldn’t have.

But Fu Shipei didn’t hold it against him. He believed he understood Lu Yan well enough. Sure, he might say he wouldn’t break up, but only because he still liked that person. When the feelings faded, Lu Yan would end it quicker than anyone else, no hesitation.

“We haven’t seen each other in so long. Couldn’t you spare a couple of days for me?” Fu Shipei didn’t actually expect Lu Yan to agree. Despite his short attention span, Lu Yan was loyal when he was in love.

“Which days?” The “loyal” Lu Yan agreed without a second thought, even offering to pick a time, which took Fu Shipei by surprise.

Did people really change? Or was it that Lu Yan just saw him as a buddy now, nothing more?

“How about tomorrow and the day after?” Fu Shipei watched Lu Yan’s face, noticing a slight frown as soon as he mentioned tomorrow.

“I’ll be out of town for work after that,” he added.

“Fine, then.” After a brief pause, Lu Yan nodded. He figured it wasn’t like he’d confirmed anything with Wei Yuhe anyway. Besides, maybe he had plans too. He could just shoot him a message to let him know.

Of course, Fu Shipei’s intentions weren’t exactly pure. When they were together, they’d never even lived together. Yet now, post-breakup, he’d booked a suite and was casually inviting Lu Yan to stay over.

“I’ll just stay in my dorm,” Lu Yan declined the invitation to the hotel.

“But my place is really far from your school,” Fu Shipei replied, pretending to be in a dilemma.

Lu Yan thought, well, since Liang Mu wasn’t around, nobody would notice if he didn’t come back for a night. “Alright, but just as friends hanging out—don’t get any other ideas, okay?”

Instead of responding, Fu Shipei simply took Lu Yan’s hand and led him out the door.

In truth, Lu Yan wasn’t even sure what they could talk about. Maybe it was just curiosity. He still wanted to know why this guy had broken up with him in the first place.

Apparently, Fu Shipei could sense Lu Yan’s curiosity too, but he didn’t say anything. After dinner, they headed straight to the hotel.

“Tomorrow, I’ll leave it to you to find something fun for us to do,” said Fu Shipei.

“During a holiday, everywhere’s crowded. Not much fun in that,” Lu Yan replied.

That night, instead of thinking of places to take Fu Shipei, his mind drifted to Wei Yuhe, wondering what he was up to.

Lu Yan had the nagging feeling he’d forgotten something, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

The next day was exactly as Lu Yan predicted. Even just window shopping was like navigating a packed crowd—definitely not fun. But strangely, Fu Shipei seemed to be in high spirits, like he hadn’t gone out shopping in ages.

They walked non-stop for hours, and Lu Yan couldn’t help but be impressed by his stamina. Only after Lu Yan repeatedly insisted on resting did Fu Shipei finally relent, leading them to a bar.

“Haven’t been here in ages,” Fu Shipei murmured, leaning back in his seat and looking around, drink in hand.

They’d only been there half an hour, and already several people had come over to try chatting them up.

This was the same bar where Lu Yan had first met Fu Shipei. Back then, it was Fu Shipei who was getting hit on, and Lu Yan had been the one to approach him.

After a few people tried and failed to get his attention, Lu Yan had walked over with a drink in hand, his face illuminated by the shifting lights. He’d grinned at Fu Shipei and asked, “Hey, cutie, interested?”

To this day, Fu Shipei couldn’t remember exactly how he’d responded. Next thing he knew, they’d exchanged numbers and arranged a follow-up date.

“Lu Yan!” A loud, exaggerated voice suddenly called out from across the room, so loud it overpowered the bar’s pounding music.

“What are you doing here?” Fang Xu walked up and threw an arm around Lu Yan’s shoulder, acting like they were best buddies.

Fang Xu was one of Lu Yan’s roommates, one of the two who had moved out for their relationships.

After giving a quick glance at the man across from Lu Yan, Fang Xu leaned in and whispered, “Aren’t you pursuing your junior? You moved on already?”

“What nonsense? He’s just an old friend I haven’t seen in a while.” Lu Yan didn’t bother keeping his voice down around Fu Shipei.

“This is Fu Shipei,” he said, introducing them. “And this is my roommate, Fang Xu.”

Fang Xu didn’t pay much attention to Fu Shipei. He figured it’d be a one-time meeting and didn’t bother with formalities.

“Why didn’t you come find me? You’re here for the holiday, not going anywhere, and you didn’t think to hit me up?” Fang Xu complained, still gripping Lu Yan’s shoulder.

Lu Yan replied, “Why would I come to you? So I can play third wheel?”

“What third wheel? We had a fight, and she went back home on the first day of break,” Fang Xu said, taking another swig of his drink. “She’s not replying to my calls or messages; I can’t reach her at all.”

Lu Yan didn’t know how to comfort him. In his world, “fighting” and “dating” didn’t go together. If he wasn’t happy in a relationship, that just meant it was time to break up.

“So, you’re here to drown your sorrows?” Lu Yan clinked glasses with him.

“Not really.” Fang Xu laughed. “I just came to take a photo at the bar and post it on my social feed. Let’s see if that gets her to reach out to me.”

Lu Yan gave him a blank look. “Idiot.”