On the third day after Xie Quan moved out, Lu Nanyang found a part-time job at the cake shop downstairs.
The owner was a woman in her forties named Ying. Word was, she quit her job after getting married to take care of her kid, and once the kid grew up, she opened the shop to help support the household. Business had been booming ever since.
When she heard Lu Nanyang wanted to help out, Ying Jie beamed.
“I remember you! You’re that young guy who worked at the bakery across the street last summer, right?”
Lu Nanyang gave a sheepish smile. “Yeah, that was me.”
“I remember so clearly! The summer you worked there, their sales skyrocketed! We all envied them so much, wished we could figure out where they found such a handsome helper!”
Lu Nanyang just chuckled.
“But that guy had a bit of a personality issue. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have shut down so soon.” Ying Jie kept chattering. “He was skimming wages and cheating with one of the female staff. His wife found out in just a couple of days—chased him down two whole streets with a broom! You wouldn’t believe the scene!”
Lu Nanyang burst out laughing. “No way, seriously?”
“Totally serious! The whole neighborhood saw it. Super embarrassing!” Ying Jie said.
“I saw it too! I saw it too!” the younger girl working in the shop rushed over when she caught wind of the gossip, giving an animated play-by-play of the whole scene. Lu Nanyang laughed so hard he doubled over, and the shop filled with warm, lively energy.
Yes, this was the kind of life he should have.
He tried to fill up his schedule as much as possible—aside from part-time work, he also took on several civil litigation cases, staying so busy that he barely had time to stop and think.
Before Xie Quan came into his life, this had always been the kind of life he led. Now, he had simply corrected a mistaken relationship and returned to his original rhythm.
For a few moments, Lu Nanyang almost managed to believe this kind of self-comfort.
But no matter how full he packed his schedule, night would still fall as usual.
The sunset burned half the sky, dyeing the whole world red. Then the moon slowly climbed up, and all colors vanished beneath the singular curtain of night. Only the stars remained, twinkling as always behind a faint mist of clouds.
By now, Lu Nanyang could easily recognize which one was Polaris and which was Altair just by looking out at the night sky.
He could still vividly remember how Xie Quan had described those stars.
The way he tilted his head up, the contours of his face refined and smooth in the soft light, his eyes behind his glasses deep and clear, lit with an excited shimmer.
It was also those very same eyes that had looked at him with a mixture of coughing and laughter, full of mockery, as he said: “That’s right, Lu Nanyang. You do hate me.”
Xie Quan had turned into a kind of hooked weapon—just hearing his name made Lu Nanyang feel like his heart had been yanked, pierced, and left trembling in pain between his ribs.
But memories weren’t something he could control. In the stillness of the deep night, his brain would always cruelly replay more and more fragments.
Like those dazed and tender eyes. Like that husky, teasing voice.
Like the expression he hadn’t even realized he was making—suspended, on the verge of tears—as Xie Quan pressed a hand to the back of his head. Like something fragile made of glass, already shattered once and roughly pieced back together, never again worthy of being cherished.
Lu Nanyang curled up, the blankets rustling as he moved. His pillow was squashed out of shape beneath his head.
He tossed and turned a few times, but the desires that had quietly arisen weren’t suppressed—they surged back even more fiercely.
He closed his eyes and, giving up all self-control, reached his hand downward.
And then in the dead of night, all that was left was the sound of ragged breathing.
…….
When the summer heat reached its peak, the shop would get so busy that the air conditioner might as well not be on. Everyone was soaked in sweat.
After sending off the last wave of customers, things finally quieted down, leaving only some end-of-day cleaning.
“That kid who came to buy cake just now always looks so unhappy,” Ying Jie said as she washed dishes. “Every time I see him, he looks like he’s about to cry any second.”
“Oh, that kid? I know him,” the younger girl in the shop joined in. “His family is a remarried one. His dad cheated with a mistress, and his mom is a rural woman with no education. After the divorce, she found out the house wasn’t even under her name. She had no choice but to remarry just to support him through school. But the guy she married… I’ve seen him stealing from the mini-mart across the street. Total scumbag.”
“Ah, poor kid,” Ying Jie sighed.
“Yeah, I heard from his classmates he’s got depression or something,” the younger girl continued. “Even attempted suicide once, but thankfully he was saved.”
“You know, these days there are a lot of young people with mental illnesses,” Ying Jie said. “I read a news story recently about a group of university students who jumped off a cliff together—only one survived. Such a shame. I mean, there’s no obstacle in life you can’t get past. Kids these days just can’t handle any hardship…”
“Ying-jie, mental illness is still an illness. It has nothing to do with handling hardship,” Lu Nanyang interrupted. “No matter how much suffering someone endures, some illnesses just don’t get better.”
“I think Lu Nanyang is right,” the younger girl chimed in. “Society is different now. Young people are under a lot of pressure. Actually, just on my way over here, I saw a student collapse on the roadside.”
“A student?” Ying Jie asked. “A high schooler?”
“No, I think he was from Yuncheng university. He was carrying a laptop and a bunch of textbooks. Maybe low blood sugar or just extreme fatigue—he just dropped straight onto the grass by the sidewalk.”
A Yuncheng university student?
Lu Nanyang jerked his head up. “Boy or girl? What did they look like?”
The younger girl was startled. “Uh… a boy. Pretty tall, I think he was wearing glasses too…”
Lu Nanyang shot up from his chair. “Where? Did you call an ambulance?”
The girl stammered, “I-I saw there was already a crowd around him, so I didn’t really step in…”
“Where?” Lu Nanyang asked again, raising his voice in urgency.
“Right on the street behind us!” she pointed. “Jeez, why are you suddenly freaking out like this…”
Before she could finish, Lu Nanyang had already bolted out of the shop, sprinting toward the road she pointed to.
Just like she said, there was an ambulance parked on the road behind, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers.
“Excuse me! Please let me through!” Lu Nanyang tried to push through the people, but the crowd was too packed.
Two nurses got off the ambulance and, under everyone’s watch, seemed to be lifting someone onto a stretcher. But with so many people crowding around, Lu Nanyang couldn’t see anything.
“Please! I’m his friend!” he shouted.
Startled, the crowd finally parted enough to let him through. He rushed up to the stretcher—only to see a tall, chubby guy lying on it. A pair of thick-rimmed glasses was crooked on his face, lenses at least -8.0 diopters.
The guy had regained consciousness during the transfer and was startled by Lu Nanyang rushing over. He blinked, confused and dazed. “Do… do I know you?”
Lu Nanyang froze. A surge of emotions—relief, embarrassment, disappointment—rose all at once in his chest.
He stood there catching his breath for a long moment. Then, under the disapproving gazes of the nurses, he shook his head and patted the guy on the shoulder.
“Sorry. Mistaken identity. Rest well and drink plenty of hot water.”
The boy was taken away in the ambulance, and as it drove off, the crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed.
Lu Nanyang’s hand was still trembling slightly. Just as he reached into his pocket, intending to take out a cigarette, he suddenly felt a gaze and snapped his head up.
Then, his eyes met Xie Quan’s—just a few steps away.
Xie Quan was wearing a white shirt, the top two buttons undone, revealing his pronounced collarbones. The evening breeze lifted his hair and brushed past his gray eyes, filled with complex emotion.
His complexion looked unhealthy—still pale to the point of appearing sickly. A closer look revealed the heavy dark circles under his eyes. But he was indeed standing there, unharmed.
The curious crowd had almost completely dispersed, leaving just the two of them standing in the street.
Xie Quan hadn’t come for the spectacle; he’d just happened to be passing by after finishing his internship and stayed to observe out of professional duty as a doctor. He had noticed Lu Nanyang the moment he arrived—after all, someone with that voice and presence was hard to miss.
He had only been a few steps away from Lu Nanyang the entire time, but due to the density of the crowd, Lu Nanyang hadn’t seen him.
Xie Quan had originally intended to turn and leave right after the boy was taken into the ambulance.
There was nothing interesting to see, the crowd had thinned out, and he still had tons of internship assignments and papers to prepare.
But it was like some mysterious force kept him rooted in place—his feet refused to move.
Alright then, he thought, just wait two more seconds. If Lu Nanyang doesn’t notice him, he’ll leave.
Three more seconds.
Five.
And then—
Lu Nanyang’s gaze collided directly with his. Xie Quan was caught off guard and didn’t have time to look away, so he could only brace himself and stay still.
It had only been a few days, yet Lu Nanyang looked noticeably thinner. That open cardigan hung loosely on his body like it was on a hanger, exposing his lean, defined waist.
Lu Nanyang said nothing for a long time. Xie Quan felt like Lu Nanyang was staring holes through him, so he cleared his throat and said, “You—”
But he only got one syllable out before Lu Nanyang suddenly started walking toward him, then speeding up—finally breaking into a jog.
Before Xie Quan could react, he was pulled tightly into a solid embrace. The force of it made his ribs ache.
But at the same time, that familiar dry warmth and faint lemon scent wrapped around him—and he couldn’t bring himself to push away.
Lu Nanyang rested his chin on Xie Quan’s shoulder, and after a moment, whispered, “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
Xie Quan tilted his head slightly. The stars were beautiful—he could faintly make out the Milky Way.
“Wanna talk?” he asked hoarsely.
